Man loses claim over ankle injury at service station
AN accident at a service station in Camolin led to an injury which took less than two weeks to clear up and more than six years to come to a court hearing.
Paul Collins formerly of Blackhall House, Bannow, came to court seeking €6,348 in his personal injury claim dating back to December of 2013.
He attended a civil sitting of Wexford District Court with his solicitor and with barrister Andrew King in his action against Ontrac Service Station Limited, trading as Carton’s Pitstop at Clonhenritt, Camolin.
The 52-year-old plaintiff, who described himself as an administration manager, travelled from Mayo to give his evidence in the case.
He recalled how he was on his way to the High Court on the morning of December 23 in 2013.
He was at the coffee machine when he was asked to move back by a member of staff who came to fill the machine with milk.
Collins obliged and his ankle collided with a fire extinguisher stand, causing him a lot of pain.
He asked the manager to log his mishap in the accident book before resuming his journey to the High Court.
During the day, the ankle became swollen, so he attended Wexford General Hospital where an X-ray was taken. He was advised to rest the severely bruised joint and to take paracetamol.
No further treatment was required and he was back to normal within two weeks.
The plaintiff complained that the metal stand, which held two extinguishers and a bucket, should have been out on the forecourt and not indoors.
Staff member Martina Donohoe was present in court to confirm that she wrote up the entry in the accident book as requested.
However, her impression was that what happened was minor and she could not believe when Collins’s claim came in several months later.
Her recollection was that, on the day in question, he showed her his ankle but there was no mark on it though he kept rubbing at it.
Counsel referred the court to the Fire Services Act of 1981 to support his contention that the presence of the stand had created a hazard.
The solicitor representing Carton’s responded that Collins should have looked where he was going and described the injuries as minimal.
After seeing photographs of the scene, Judge Brian O’Shea agreed that the stand was a relatively large item and very obvious.
It should have been apparent to anyone watching where they were going and it could not be classified as a hazard.
The case was dismissed and Collins was ordered to pay the legal costs of the respondent.