Last updated on August 18th, 2015 at 03:50 pm

Christmas parties started early for Gina and her family as they attended a naming ceremony at the club on 19th December.  Unfortunately, however, it wasn’t a happy start to the holidays, as Gina ended up in hospital after a fall on the club’s dance floor.

Finishing at around 2pm, the ceremony was followed by a buffet, which was placed on a table at the end of the dance floor.  When the disco started at around 3pm, the buffet was still there and people were still helping themselves; walking across the dance floor with the food.  Whilst up on the dance floor, Gina slipped on food that had been dropped, fell to the floor and was immediately in pain.  She attended hospital where she was diagnosed with a broken ankle and had to undergo surgery which included having metal pins inserted into the ankle.

The accident resulted in Gina unable to work for five months, and even when she could return, she found her job as a trainer difficult due the amount of standing and the remaining pain in her ankle, so she had to take up a different, lower paid position.

Gina’s solicitor, Jonathan, says “Under the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957, the licensee of the club had a duty to take reasonable care for the safety of all visitors, and, in my opinion, by failing to clear away the buffet before the disco, and allowing guests to wander over the dance floor with food, he did not do so in this case.  The licensee denied liability, and so we had to issue court proceedings.  The matter then settled for £10,000, which went towards Gina’s loss of earnings, care, travel and a possible future operation to remove the metal pins.”

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