€85k for woman covered in varnish after lid fell off

A woman has been awarded €85,000 for injuries she received after she was covered “from head to toe” by varnish when a tin lid fell off as she was scanning it at a self-service checkout in a DIY store.

It would have been better if the barcode on the tin of Ronseal had not been on the lid which meant Wendy Delaney, aged 68, had to turn it upside down to scan it, Mr Justice Michael Hanna remarked in the High Court.

Ms Delaney, a community worker from Newlands Rd, Clondalkin, Dublin, sued B&Q Ireland in the High Court over the accident in its Tallaght store on May 30, 2009.