A mushroom picker has withdrawn a High Court claim over a back injury she said she suffered due to not being provided with the proper equipment for her job.
Ewa Rolbiecka (51), Cré Na Mara, Arklow, Co Wicklow, sued her employer Michael Kennedy after she fell while using a low stool when trying to pick from a high mushroom shelf in Kennedy’s farm, Arklow, on January 3rd, 2016.
Mr Kennedy denied she was not provided with proper equipment and also pleaded contributory negligence.
Ms Rolbiecka said she has been unable to work since the incident because of pain in her back. She came down hard on her right leg onto a concrete surface and suffered nerve compression in her back, it was claimed.
As a result, she could not do household chores such as vacuuming for more than five minutes, wash dishes or clothes.
She told one doctor last May that she was unable to cycle or walk because of the ongoing pain. She told another doctor last October she had problems lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling things.
On the second day of the case last Friday, the defence introduced film shot by a private investigator showing her cycling a year after the accident. Another piece of film, shot last January, showed her pushing her grand-daughter around in a pram to and inside a shopping centre.
Under cross examination by Finbarr Fox SC, with Philip Fennell BL, instructed by solicitor Jennifer O’Riada, Ms Rolbiecka insisted the film only showed her on good days. On bad days she could not do these things and she also had to take pain killers, she said.
The case was adjourned to Tuesday to allow her legal team see the unedited versions of the film.
Following the viewings, Paul Burns SC, for Ms Rolbiecka, told Mr Justice Bernard Barton the case was being withdrawn with no order as to costs.