Tipperary woman who 'thought she was going to die' after wedding fall sues hotel in High Court

The hotel has contended that a duty manager who inspected the area after the accident will give evidence that the floor was not wet

Mr Justice Tony O’Connor was told that there is no dispute that a fall took place but the hotel contends that Ms Kirby had an unfortunate accident when she went over on her high heels and lost her balance.

A nurse who claims she suffered injuries when she slipped on an alleged wet floor at a wedding in a four star hotel has sued in the High Court.

The Tipperary woman who had been wearing stiletto shoes says she was in so much pain after the fall when she exited a lift in Hotel Kilkenny she thought she was going to die.

Hotel Kilkenny says the woman was wearing five-inch stilettos and simply lost her balance when her left ankle buckled on the way to the wedding banquet. It denies the floor was wet and slippy.

Pamela Kirby, aged 42, Glencarra Lawn, Clonmel in Co Tipperary has sued Hotel Kilkenny Ltd trading as Hotel Kilkenny, College Road, Kilkenny city, as a result of the fall as she attended the wedding reception of a friend on August 18, 2018.

Mr Justice Tony O’Connor was told that there is no dispute that a fall took place but the hotel contends that Ms Kirby had an unfortunate accident when she went over on her high heels and lost her balance. The hotel has also contended that a duty manager who inspected the area after the accident will give evidence that the floor was not wet.

Ms Kirby told the court that she disputes the version put forward by the hotel and she insisted her leg slipped on a tiled area outside the lift and she had taken about two steps when she fell.

A friend, she said, later sent her a photograph of a yellow wet floor sign on the carpet near the tiles some time after the accident.

In the fall, Ms Kirby dislocated her elbow and later needed a cast and also hurt her leg and the bones in her toes were broken and her leg was also put in a cast.

In evidence, she told the court she was wearing her own wedding shoes from her 2012 wedding on the occasion. She said she had those shoes professionally shortened by a cobbler for her own wedding and wore them regularly.

She and her husband had attended the wedding and a drinks reception at the hotel where she had two glasses of wine with ice. The gong for the wedding banquet went at 5.30pm and they went upstairs to the second floor for the wedding meal.

She said the other couples got out of the lift first and she followed with her husband. She said she slipped and fell and landed on her right side.

She told the judge:

I was in so much pain, I thought I was going to die.

She said she cannot cycle anymore and she can’t do overtime as a nurse as she can’t lift patients. She also said she used to run half marathons and was part of running club but now her only way to keep fit is to work with personal trainer once a week.

She said after the accident she could not lift her child, or drive and can now only wear runners. “It had a significant impact on my life," she said. 

Counsel for the hotel, Eamon Marray SC, put it to Ms Kirby that she simply fell over on her high heels. Ms Kirby replied that she did not accept that. Counsel put it to her that she had lost her balance because of the footwear. Ms Kirby said that was not true.

The case before Mr Justice O’Connor continues.