Damages of €110,000 for man ‘not trained’ to collect and deliver post

An ESB employee who slipped and fell on stairs as he was collecting post has been awarded €110,000 damages by the High Court.

Ms Justice Bronagh O'Hanlon found Terence Morgan, who had worked with the ESB for about 38 years, did not get specific training in the task of collecting post, which he had performed over a number of years.

Mr Morgan hurt his shoulder in the fall, was out of work for more than four months and has been left with ongoing pain.

The judge took the view that a problem with the nosing on the steps, combined with wetness, caused Mr Morgan to slip and fall very heavily down a number of steps, causing a severe and continuous injury to his left shoudler.

While Mr Morgan had inadvertently carried parcels in both hands, the judge ruled that did not amount to contributory negligence on his part in view of the absence of specific training.

“This accident was reasonably forseeable and the ESB had given no specific training on collection and delivery of post,” the judge said.

Safety

Ms Justice O’Hanlon noted it was accepted by both sides the ESB is a fastidious in terms of its emphasis on safety, protocol and investigation.

Mr Morgan (60), of Drumnacarra, Ravensdale, Dundalk, Co Louth, sued the ESB over the fall on the stairs at the ESB's offices on Avenue Road, Dundalk, where he collected post to bring down to a franking machine.

He told the court he was stepping from a landing to the first step on the lower flight of stairs when his feet went from him and he slipped, dropping the post and falling down some more steps.

He said he was sore and winded and went back up the stairs picking up the parcels he had dropped. He said he noticed water on the landing and the first step. He got a cloth and dried the landing and went home early from work but had to go to hospital the next day.

Ms Justice O’Hanlon said Mr Morgan came across as a very credible witness who did not appear in court to overstate his complaints. His account of the accident and how it occurred was consistent with his account to medical doctors treating him and he did not exaggerate his injury in any sense, she held.