Woman awarded €25k after apartment fall appeals High Court award

04/04/2019


A woman who was awarded €25,000 in compensation in the High Court after falling and breaking her wrist at an apartment complex while on holiday in Spain has lodged an appeal against the court decision. [Euro]

She claims that the High Court award did not adequately address the ongoing nature of her injury, particularly in how it affects her work as a dental nurse.

The woman originally brought her claim against the operators of the tour company with which she booked a holiday to Gran Canaria in 2008.

The High Court had heard that on the last day of the woman’s stay in her apartment complex, she was required to descend a defective ramp. She fell backwards and stretched out her right hand to break her fall. She fractured her wrist and also injured her back.

The court heard that the wrist had to be placed in a cast upon her return to Ireland and that the woman had missed six weeks of work at a time when she was in training to become a dental nurse.

Counsel for the woman told the Court of Appeal that the original High Court ruling had failed to attach sufficient weight to the evidence before it. He noted that four years after the accident, a doctor told the woman that she was at risk of developing arthritis in her wrist in the future.

Counsel for the woman also told the court that the tour company had made a settlement offer of €36,000 prior to the High Court ruling, substantially more than the amount eventually awarded.

Counsel for the tour company, which denied the original claim in the High Court, told the court that the High Court ruling should not be disturbed, arguing that the High Court judge had been best-positioned to assess the woman’s claim.

The three-judge court of appeal said it would give its decision next month but expressed its hope that the two parties might reach an agreement on the matter between themselves in the meantime.

*In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.*

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Woman awarded €25k after apartment fall appeals High Court award

26/03/2019


A woman who was awarded €25,000 in compensation in the High Court after falling and breaking her wrist at an apartment complex while on holiday in Spain has lodged an appeal against the court decision.

She claims that the High Court award did not adequately address the ongoing nature of her injury, particularly in how it affects her work as a dental nurse.

The woman originally brought her claim against the operators of the tour company with which she booked a holiday to Gran Canaria in 2008.

The High Court had heard that on the last day of the woman’s stay in her apartment complex, she was required to descend a defective ramp. She fell backwards and stretched out her right hand to break her fall. She fractured her wrist and also injured her back.

The court heard that the wrist had to be placed in a cast upon her return to Ireland and that the woman had missed six weeks of work at a time when she was in training to become a dental nurse.

Counsel for the woman told the Court of Appeal that the original High Court ruling had failed to attach sufficient weight to the evidence before it. He noted that four years after the accident, a doctor told the woman that she was at risk of developing arthritis in her wrist in the future.

Counsel for the woman also told the court that the tour company had made a settlement offer of €36,000 prior to the High Court ruling, substantially more than the amount eventually awarded.

Counsel for the tour company, which denied the original claim in the High Court, told the court that the High Court ruling should not be disturbed, arguing that the High Court judge had been best-positioned to assess the woman’s claim.

The three-judge court of appeal said it would give its decision next month but expressed its hope that the two parties might reach an agreement on the matter between themselves in the meantime.

*In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.*

Contact us for more information


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