A woman has been awarded 58,741 euros by the Supreme Court after she fell from a sidewalk.
Eraldine Keane claimed that the footpath was designed and constructed in an unorthodox manner.
Ms Keane, a civil servant from Castlerea, Co Roscommon, sued Donegal Co Council after breaking her elbow in the accident on 27 July 2018 while visiting her sister in Dungloe, Co Donegal.
Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger awarded her €117,482, but since she discovered that Ms Keane was 50 percent liable for not looking carefully, she was entitled to €58,741.
The court heard that she had just come out of a gift shop and, after crossing the main street, stepped on a raised curb that she believed was flush with the sidewalk.
However, unknown to her, a double step came down from the raised curb and she fell. She suffered a serious injury to her right knee, the court heard.
She alleged that the municipality was negligent and in breach of legal duty in the design, construction, make-up, maintenance, maintenance, warnings and/or inspection and/or construction of the footpath.
She also claimed that the defendant had designed and constructed a very unorthodox arrangement between the roadway, curb and sidewalk.
This, it was alleged, gave rise to foreseeable danger to pedestrians. She claimed that the council created an unusual feature and gave no or any adequate warning or notice of its existence. It therefore effectively disguised its existence, it was alleged.
The council denied all charges. It claimed she was responsible by not looking reasonably and that the raised curb followed by two steps was easily apparent to anyone reasonably looking.
The council’s technical expert said the two-step scheme was a good road design to both prevent flooding during rainfall and motorists to climb onto the pavement.
Ms Keane’s expert said it was an unusual and unsafe design, but it could have been alleviated by installing a handrail, installing barriers or putting up warning signs.
Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger was pleased that when the council introduced the two-step scheme in 1995, it did so without including anything to alert pedestrians to its existence. The municipality did it in a way to create danger and was therefore liable.
She said, however, that Mrs. Keane had failed to look more carefully. Therefore, she rated liability for the accident as 50/50 between the plaintiff and the defendant.
Ms Keane was taken to hospital by ambulance after the accident and underwent immediate surgery for a fracture of her elbow.
She then experienced severe pain and limitations in her daily activities for months and was unable to return to work or her own home.
She eventually returned to work part-time and returned home about four months after the accident. Several months later, she returned to a full-time job and was facilitated by her employer with adapted equipment.
The judge said she suffered a serious injury to her right elbow that left her with permanent disability and scarring
Taking into account her complicit negligence of 50 percent, she was entitled to a reward of €58,741, she said.