Restaurant Injury Compensation

You may be able to claim restaurant injury compensation in Ireland if you have sustained an injury due to trip, slip or fall accident in a restaurant or if you have fallen victim to restaurant food poisoning. Claims for restaurant injury in the former scenario are not always guaranteed to be successful when a hazard in a restaurant has only recently manifested and the proprietor or staff have not had a reasonable amount of time to eliminate the risk of injury. Claims for restaurant food poisoning injury compensation have to be acted upon quickly in order to establish negligence and, like restaurant injury compensation claims following an accident in a restaurant, you should seek professional legal advice from a solicitor on our freephone Legal Advice Centre before submitting your application for assessment to the Injuries Board Ireland.

Waitress Awarded €50,000 Compensation for Broken Glass Injury

July 23rd, 2020. By Compensation News.

A woman who was working as a waitress when she sustained a hand injury as the glass she was polishing broke has been awarded €50,000 compensation at the Circuit Civil Court.

Daniela Tricolici (24) was, according to Judge John O’Connor, not given adequate safety training prior to polishing wine glasses for her then employer Ravellos Restaurant in Clonsilla in 2015.

Judge O’Connor deemed that the employer, ABE Restaurant Limited, Weaver’s Row, Clonsilla, had been negligent by not providing proper training for Ms Tricolici.

Ms Tricolici, with at an address at Ravenswood Road Clonsilla, is now employed in a bank. The court was informed that the woman punctured
er left little finger when the stem of the glass she was polishing broke. The incident took place on September 18, 2015.

Speaking in court, forensic engineer Conor Murphy advised the Judgethat Ms Tricolici had given him a demonstration of how she was polishing the glass with a towel when the accident occurred. He said that training should have been provided to show Ms Tricolici how to do so safely. Instead, according to Mr Murphy, Ms Tricolici had held the base of the wine glass in one hand while polishing the bowl with her other hand. She polished the glass in a twist and turn fashion when the stem had broken.

Barrister for the plaintiff, Conor Kearney, argued that the waitress had clearly been polishing the glass in the correct fashion and should have been stopped by her employer and shown how to do it correctly. He said that if Ms Tricolici had been grasping the bowl of the glass in one hand while using the polishing cloth with her other hand it was more than probable that the glass would not have broken and injured her as it did on the day in question.

Legal counsel for the defendant claimed this that there is no dedicated provision in legislation or a manual focused on safe glass polishing. Along with this it was claimed that it would be placing a huge burden on an employer to ask them to train someone when there was no accepted official training regime or accepted pattern of training available on how a particular task should be completed.

After the incident the woman was taken to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, for the wound to be medically assessed and treated. Here it was found that she had been left with a small wound and that damage to a nerve in her finger had not properly rehabilitated. She still experiences hypersensitivity in the area of the injury.

Judge O’Connor awarded Ms Tricolici €25,000 personal injury compensation, saying: “I am satisfied on the balance of probability that the defendant in this case was negligent. There was no training provided and it should have been.”

€80k Personal Injury Compensation Awarded for Ankle Injury at Copper Face Jacks

December 6th, 2018. By Compensation News.

A Limerick man, Colin McNamara, has had a nightclub injury compensation settlement of €80,000 approved in relation to a legal action he pursued following at High Court following an accident that occurred at Dublin nightclub Copper Face Jacks.

Mr McNamara, who works as a bar manager, fractured his ankle in two places following a slip and fall on a wet floor slip at the disco on October 9, 2015. He was staying in Dublin to attend a Republic of Ireland soccer match at the Aviva Stadium.

Mr McNamara (36), who lives in Rathbane Co Limerick, submitted the personal injury compensation claim against Breanagh Catering Ltd and the owners of Copper Face Jacks due to the injuries he suffered at the venue. Mr McNamara informed the High Court that he slipped on a floor which was wet and treacherous to patrons on the evening. He said: “the wet floor caused me to slip and fall. I turned to walk but I ended up on the floor.”

Justice Michael Hanna was informed by Mr McNamara that security workers in attendance lifted him up from the ground and took him out to a back alley where another staff member looked at his leg and ankle before informing him that it was not broken. The security workers informed him that they could not call an ambulance. Mr McNamara advised Justice Hanna that he “hobbled away” from the nightclub before hailing a taxi in order to return to his hotel. As he (Mr McNamara) was still in a considerable amount of pain when he returned to Limerick, he went to hospital where he discovered that he had fractured his ankle in two different places. Mr McNamara underwent surgery and had his movement restricted in the aftermath as he had to use crutches. He was unable to work in his role as a bar manager for five months due to the surgery

Presiding Judge Justice Hanna told the Court that the correct figure of personal injury compensation was €80,000 along with an additional €7,116 ‘special damages’ to pay for medical and other expenses incurred by Mr McNamara.

Compensation Awarded for Waitress Workplace Injury

April 12th, 2016. By Compensation News.

The High Court of Dublin has awarded a six-figure settlement of compensation for a waitress who suffered a hand injury whilst using jugs that were deemed unfit for purpose.

The waitress in question, Sophie Caillaud (forty-two) sustained an injury to her hand when a glass jug she was filling shattered, causing a deep cut to her thumb. At the time, Sophie was working in the Lough Rynn Hotel in Mohill, Co. Leitrim.

Sophie was brought to hospital, where surgery was carried out to help repair the soft tissue damage to her thumb. However, since the accident Sophie has never been able to regain full strength in the digit and as such has had difficulty carrying out normal, daily tasks.

Sophie sought legal counsel before proceeding to make a claim for compensation against her former employer, the Lough Rynn Hotel, as well as the manufacturers and suppliers of the glass jug – Bunzl Outsourcing Ltd and Utopia Tableware Ltd..

The defendants disputed Sophie’s claim for compensation for a waitress hand injury, as they believed the amount being sought was too high. They also argued that it was Sophie’s own negligence that caused her injuries.

Neither negotiations nor the Injuries Board could resolve the case, so it proceeded to the High Court in Dublin where it was heard by Mr Justice Kevin Cross. There, the judge heard of how other staff members had previously sustained injuries from shattering glass jugs.

An expert witness explained to the court of how the rapid heating and cooling of the jugs in the dishwasher weaker the joint between the handle and the body, concluding they were unfit for purpose.

Sophie also gave evidence at the hearing, after which the judge dismissed any claims by the defendants that she had acted negligently or exaggerated the extent of her injuries. After commenting that he found Sophie to be “entirely genuine”, she was awarded €500,000 compensation.

Five-Figure Compensation Settlement for Chef

March 14th, 2016. By Compensation News.

A man, who was injured whilst working as a chef, has been awarded compensated after a hearing in the Circuit Civil Court.

When Shijun Liu, an ordinary chef in the Howards Way Restaurant, Rathgar, was working at the restaurant’s sister establishment in Churchtown in March 2013, he noticed that a cleaner was struggling to use a domestic power hose. The hose had become tangled, and as Shijun and the cleaner were attempting to fix it, it suddenly started to spray Shijun with scalding water.

The water caused severe burns to Shijun’s ankle, and though he was brought to the VHI clinic in Dundrum after the accident, he had to take two weeks off of work in the kitchens. Shijun sought legal counsel and proceeded to make a claim for compensation against Declan Howard, his employer at the restaurant. The Injuries Board requested permission to investigate the circumstances of the accident, but consent was denied.

The claim was heard earlier this month in the Circuit Civil Court by Mr Justice Raymond Groarke. The judge was told of the unsuitability of the powerhose for the cleaning of the kitchen, after which Shijun was awarded €15,000. Judge Groarke added that he found Shijun’s story quite compelling.

Five-figure Settlement for Bar Injury

February 7th, 2016. By Compensation News.

A woman who dislocated her thumb in an accident in a bar has been awarded a compensation settlement of €90,000 when the case was heard in Dublin’s High Court.

Sharon Kelly was attending a 30th birthday celebration in the Atc Café Bar on the Fonthill Road, Dublin on the 28th May 2011 when the accident occurred. As Ms Kelly – aged forty-four – was trying to cross the lobby to access the bathrooms, she slipped on some liquid and disclosed her thumb.

Ms Kelly’s injury resulted in a loss of sensation in her thumb, as well as affecting her ability to grip objects. Ms Kelly sought legal counsel and subsequently made a claim for her bar injury against Lackabeg Limited, who trade as the Arc Café Bar. The claim alleged that there was no proper monitoring system in place to ensure that there was no liquid on the floor, and this caused her injury.

Lackabeg Limited refused to admit any liability for Ms Kelly’s injury, and countered her claims by saying that Arc Café Bar used a comprehensive cleaning system to prevent such accidents. They argued that Ms Kelly had already been drinking for several hours that evening, and that combined with the high heels she was wearing actually caused her fall.

The Injuries Board told Ms Kelly that she could proceed to the courts with her injury claim, as liability was being contested. The case was subsequently heard in Dublin’s High Court, by Mr Justice Anthony Barr.

Judge Barr was told that there were two possible sources of the liquid on the ground: either a customer had spilled their drink or someone walked it out of the ladies’ toilet. Two other women testified to the substandard conditions in the ladies’ bathrooms that night confirmed that complaints had been made to the staff.

CCTV footage of the bar that night showed that there area was quite crowded as there was a two-for-one drinks promotion and a Champions League match being shown. Judge Barr confirmed his belief that there was liquid on the floor where Ms Kelly fell.

Before awarding Ms Kelly the €90,000 compensation, Judge Barr commented “People cannot be expected to look at the floor when walking across a bar. She was entitled to expect that the floor was dry and it was safe for her to walk across it.”

Claim for an Injury from Eating Food at Dublin Airport Resolved at Court

August 4th, 2015. By Compensation News.

A claim for an injury from eating food at Dublin Airport has been resolved at a hearing of the Swords District Court in favour of the plaintiff.

On 23rd March 2013, Shane McQuillan (32) from Swords in Dublin went to the Gate Clock Bar in Terminal 1 at Dublin Airport and purchased the ingredients for a sausage and bacon sandwich. Shane constructed the sandwich and then bit into it, fracturing his upper right back molar on a crispy piece of bacon rind.

Shane alleged that the rasher of bacon should not have been sold to him as it had been allowed to get stale due to it being left on display for a number of hours. He made a claim for an injury from eating food at Dublin Airport, liability for which was denied by the owners of the Gate Clock Bar.

As the Injuries Board did not receive the consent it needed to process Shane´s application for an assessment of compensation, Shane was issued with an authorisation to pursue his claim for an injury from eating food at Dublin Airport through the court system. The case was heard last week by Judge Patricia McNamara at the Swords District Court.

At the hearing, the manager of the Gate Clock Bar gave evidence that the food is changed every ninety minutes, but she was unable to support her claim with documentary evidence. It was also argued by the bar´s legal representatives that, if Shane believed the food to be inedible, he should not have put it in his sandwich. Shane told the judge that he believed the food had been allowed to become stale due to being left on display for a number of hours.

Judge McNamara found in Shane´s favour on the grounds that there was no evidence to contradict his argument. After hearing that he still suffers occasional pain from the fractured tooth and experiences discomfort from drinking cold drinks, the judge initially awarded Shane €6,500 general damages and €2,500 special damages in settlement of his claim for an injury from eating food at Dublin Airport.

However, the judge then said that she was attributing Shane 50 percent contributory negligence and – commenting that he “should have been careful of a crispy rasher rind” – reduced the award of compensation by half to €4,500.

Injury Compensation for Lacerated Finger Approved in Court

April 9th, 2014. By Compensation News.

The Circuit Civil Court has approved a settlement of injury compensation for a lacerated finger for a nine-year-old girl from Dublin.

At the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard how Naoise Walsh from Bluebell in Dublin was shopping in the Debenhams store in Henry Street with her mother, when the two stopped in the store´s café for a drink and a rest.

Naoise (who was six-years-old at the time) went to take a drink from one of the fridges in the café but, as she did so, her finger became trapped in the wire mesh of the shelf on which the drink was stacked and as she tried to pull it away, she lacerated it badly.

An ambulance was summoned, and Naoise was taken to the Children´s Hospital in Temple Street, where her injury was cleaned and her finger dressed. The following day, Naoise underwent a general anaesthetic so that her injury could be examined for tendon damage; however none was found and Naoise was allowed home the same evening.

Through her mother – Amy – a claim for injury compensation for a lacerated finger was made on Naoise´s behalf against Debenhams Retail Ireland Ltd. The company acknowledged their part in Naoise´s injury, and the two parties agreed a settlement of €10,000 injury compensation for a lacerated finger.

However, before the claim for a lacerated finger injury could be concluded, the settlement had to be approved by a judge: and therefore Mr Justice Raymond Groarke was told the circumstances of how Naoise sustained her finger injury – and that Debenhams was not contesting the claim – before approving the settlement of injury compensation for a lacerated finger.