The High Court in Galway dismissed Mohammad Aldasouqi’s personal injuries proceedings against Dunnes Stores, finding he had not established that the company breached its duty of care after he fell from a ladder while trying to fix a security camera at its Briarhill store.
Mr Justice Tony O’Connor delivered judgment on 11 February 2021. He found that Mr Aldasouqi suffered soft tissue injuries to his right lower chest, abdomen, arm and wrist, and left knee, with some pain in his right hip. The judge said the worker’s continuing knee problems were not linked to the fall.
The claim arose from an incident on 18 January 2014. Mr Aldasouqi, who was working as a security manager, said a camera was hanging by its wire and he believed it needed to be fixed. He testified that store manager Paul McGrath told him to fix it and advised him to wait until a security colleague arrived so they could communicate by radio. Mr Aldasouqi said he received no instructions on how to do the work.
Aldasouqi’s case included an allegation that he had been required to use a defective ladder. During the trial, his counsel argued that the defence had not specifically denied that McGrath directed him to fix the camera, leaving the worker unprepared for McGrath’s evidence that no such conversation took place. The judge ruled that the omission in the defence could not be condoned. To address the resulting unfairness, he excluded McGrath’s denial from consideration on liability. That ruling did not determine the claim in the worker’s favour.
The judge accepted that McGrath had asked Mr Aldasouqi to fix the camera. But he found the instruction did not show that the worker had to do the job himself or use an unsafe method. The evidence did not establish that McGrath pressured him to disregard safety. The judge also found that Mr Aldasouqi chose an unsuitable ladder and did not explain why he had not used the mezzanine floor, where operative James Cummins had been positioned and could undertake the task safely.
The court concluded that Mr Aldasouqi had not established a breach of duty by Dunnes Stores that contributed to his injuries. It dismissed the proceedings.