The High Court found Dunnes Stores (Newbridge) Limited liable after a checkout worker injured her right knee when she tripped on loose cabling at its Newbridge supermarket in May 2012. It rejected the company’s contributory-negligence defence and assessed damages, but left the terms of the final order to be discussed with counsel.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Bernard J. Barton on 24 February 2017, records that the accident happened as the worker stood from her checkout stool and turned to leave. Her foot caught cabling under the checkout and she struck her knee against the counter. The company accepted that the accident occurred as described. CCTV footage had been mislaid.
The judge found the cabling was a hazard known to the employer and that it breached section 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and its common-law duty to provide a safe workplace and means of exit. The cabling was gathered and secured after the accident.
The worker knew of the loose cabling and had heard of a similar accident involving a colleague in 2010. The court found that her inattention as she turned to leave amounted to inadvertence, but not contributory negligence. The judge concluded that the employer’s breach of statutory duty caused the accident and that the worker had not deliberately exposed herself to risk.
The court also considered her claim for earnings lost while she was away from work until May 2015. The employer argued that she could have returned within weeks of knee surgery in April 2013. The judge accepted that she had soft-tissue injuries, a small anterior cruciate ligament tear and a lateral meniscus tear, with the accident also making a pre-existing, asymptomatic condition in her right knee symptomatic. Her GP continued to certify her unfit for work until May 2015. The judge allowed the loss-of-earnings claim to that date, subject to an adjustment for social welfare benefits received. The amount of that claim had been agreed between the parties but is not stated in the judgment.
The court assessed general damages at €35,000 for pain and suffering to date and €15,000 for future symptoms, totalling €50,000. It also recorded €2,269 in agreed special damages apart from lost earnings. The judgment does not state the final total or the terms of the order; the judge said these would be discussed with counsel.