Limerick man sues Dublin nightclub over fall on wet floor

A Limerick man who claimed he slipped on an alleged wet floor at the Copper Face Jacks nightclub in Dublin city and fractured his ankle in two places has sued in the High Court.

Colin McNamara, who is a bar manager, was in the Dublin nightclub after attending an Ireland soccer at the Aviva Stadium three years ago.

He said he was in a basement bar of Copper Face Jacks when the accident happened.

"The wet floor caused me to slip and fall. I turned to walk but I ended up on the floor," he told Mr Justice Michael Hanna.

Colin McNamara, 36, of Sycamore Avenue, Rathbane, Co Limerick has sued Breanagh Catering Ltd, with offices at Harcourt Street, Dublin and the owners of the nightclub Copper Face Jacks at Harcourt Street, Dublin as a result of the accident on October 9, 2015.

Mr McNamara claimed he slipped on a floor which he alleged was wet and represented an alleged slipping hazard to patrons.

He claimed there was an alleged failure to take any or any adequate steps to clean and dry the floor surface and the floor had been allegedly allowed to remain wet and slippy and allegedly represented a danger to patrons and allegedly caused Mr McNamara to slip and injure himself.

The claims were denied and the court was told that judgment in the case had been entered in default of appearance and the case was before the court for assessment of damages only.

In evidence, Mr McNamara said bouncers came and picked him from the floor and brought him out to a back alley where a member of staff tended to his leg and looked at the ankle and told him it was not broken.

Mr McNamara said he was told they could not ring for an ambulance and he "hobbled away" and got a taxi back to his hotel.

He said he was in a lot of pain that night and when he got back to Limerick he went to hospital where he was told he had fractured his ankle.

He later had to have an operation on the ankle where a plate and screws were inserted in it and was, in all, out of work for twenty weeks. Mr McNamara said he also had to wear crutches for eight weeks.

Mr McNamara said he has been left with a scar on his ankle and at weekends, when he works long shifts his ankle swells up afterwards.

The case before Mr Justice Michael Hanna continues tomorrow.