Courts

‘I thought I was going to die’: Nurse sues in High Court over slip emerging from hotel lift

Hotel Kilkenny says Pamela Kirby was wearing five-inch stilettos and simply lost her balance when her left ankle buckled on the way to a wedding banquet

In the High Court, Mr Justice Tony O’Connor was told there is no dispute that a fall took place but the hotel contends Pamela Kirby had an unfortunate accident when she went over on her high heels and lost her balance. Photograph: Aidan Crawley
In the High Court, Mr Justice Tony O’Connor was told there is no dispute that a fall took place but the hotel contends Pamela Kirby had an unfortunate accident when she went over on her high heels and lost her balance. Photograph: Aidan Crawley
Wed Jan 29 2025 - 19:32

A nurse has sued in the High Court claiming she suffered injuries when she slipped on a wet floor while at a wedding in a four-star hotel.

Pamela Kirby (42) says she fell as she exited a lift at Hotel Kilkenny and was left in so much pain she thought she was going to die.

Hotel Kilkenny says Ms Kirby was wearing five-inch stilettos and simply lost her balance when her left ankle buckled on the way to a wedding banquet. It denies the floor was wet and slippy.

Ms Kirby (42), of Glencarra Lawn, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, has sued Hotel Kilkenny Ltd trading as Hotel Kilkenny, College Road, Kilkenny city, over the fall on August 18th, 2018.

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She dislocated her elbow, hurt her leg and broke some bones in her toes.

Mr Justice Tony O’Connor was told that there is no dispute that a fall took place but the hotel contends Ms Kirby had an unfortunate accident when she went over on her high heels and lost her balance.

The hotel has also contended that a duty manager who inspected the area after the incident will give evidence that the floor was not wet.

Ms Kirby disputes the version put forward by the hotel and insisted in court that she slipped on a tiled area outside the lift.

She said a friend sent her a photograph of a yellow wet floor sign on the carpet near the tiles some time after the accident.

In the witness box, she told the court she was wearing shoes that had been professionally shortened by a cobbler which she wore regularly.

She and her husband had attended the wedding and a drinks reception at the hotel where she had two glasses of wine with ice. The gong for the wedding banquet went at 5.30pm and they went upstairs to the second floor for the meal.

She said the other couples got out of the lift first and she followed with her husband. She said she slipped and fell and landed on her right side.

“I was in so much pain, I thought I was going to die,” she told the judge.

She said she cannot cycle any more and she cannot do overtime as a nurse as she cannot lift patients. She also said she used to run half marathons and was part of a running club but now her only way to keep fit is to work with a personal trainer once a week.

She said she could not lift her child or drive after the fall and that she can only wear runners now. “It had a significant impact on my life,” she said.

Eamon Marray, senior counsel for the hotel, put it to Ms Kirby that she simply fell over on her high heels. Ms Kirby said she did not accept that.

Mr Marray put it to her that she lost her balance because of the footwear. Ms Kirby said that was not true.

The case continues before Mr Justice O’Connor.