Fat chance, judge tells 18st mother suing club over fall
Eren Hussein outside court. Her damages claim was rejected by Judge Heather Baucher, inset A MOTHER who sued a nightclub after falling down its stairs in three-inch heels when she weighed 18 stones has had her claim rejected, partly because of her “inebriated, obese state”.
Eren Hussein, 53, blamed dim lighting at London’s Ronnie Scott’s after breaking her wrist and elbow at a party in 2012.
But Judge Heather Baucher, QC, denied her damages claim, saying the fall was not the club’s fault and Mrs Hussein should have used a handrail. The judge said Mrs Hussein, at 18 stones, “must have taken up much of the width of the stairway”.
The judge added: “For some inexplicable reason, she did not use the handrail.
“In her inebriated, obese state, on three-inch platforms, that would be an obvious, simple step for anyone presented with what they saw as a hazard.”
Judge Baucher found Mrs Hussein was under the influence of drink, although she said she may have been affected by painkillers and the fact that she had not had alcohol for six months before the accident.
During the civil trial at Central London County Court, company director Mrs Hussein said she was walking down the left side of the stairs, when the bannister was on the right.
Mrs Hussein, of East London, said: “It was dark, it was dim and I didn’t see my step as I was going down.” She said she tumbled down one flight, round a corner and down another, landing on her neck. She has since shed five stones.
Judge Baucher said: ordinary circumstances, would have descended staircase and gone home.
“On that evening, whether due to one or more of the factors – painkillers, weight, shoes, drink – she simply missed her footing. I find she did so through no fault on the part of Ronnie Scott’s.” “In she the