Flower arranger who cut wrist on a vase in line for £100k payout
A FLOWER arranger who fell and sliced his wrist open at a top chef’s restaurant has won a possible £100,000 payout.
Davy D’Agostino, 42, was carrying a vase up a flight of stairs at one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s restaurants when he slipped.
The glass vase – which contained six litres of water – smashed and cut through tendons in his wrist, leaving him bleeding profusely.
Mr D’Agostino was able to stem the bleeding before being rushed to hospital for surgery.
The incident took place on a narrow staircase at the Ottolenghi restaurant in Belgravia, central London, in August 2014.
It is one of six run by 50-yearold TV chef Ottolenghi, the author of a string of best-selling cookbooks.
Mr D’Agostino, a former barman, initially sued Ottolenghi’s company, claiming the stairs in the restaurant were defective.
He dropped that case and instead brought a claim against his former boss, florist Caroline Farthing. A judge at the Central London County Court has ruled that Miss Farthing was at fault.
The court heard Mr D’Agostino began working for Miss Farthing, 44, of Loughton, Essex, in 2014.
He had received about 45 minutes of training on how to lift and carry heavy vases, as well as on arranging flowers.
Aside from scarring, he claims to have suffered psychological damage as a result of his fall.
Miss Farthing claimed she would never have told Mr D’Agostino to carry the vase up and down the stairs. But Judge Christopher Lethem rejected her claims and said that her evidence was ‘ chaotic and contradictory’. In his ruling, he said: ‘ Mr D’Agostino was instructed to carry the vase downstairs and empty it in the basement and expected to clean and refill it down there.’ He added: ‘The stairs were an obvious risk... and an accident waiting to happen.
‘It was an unsafe system of working and inherently risky. I consider that the accident is a direct consequence of the breach of duty which I have identified.’
The judge also rejected Miss Farthing’s claim that she could not be sued directly because Mr D’Agostino was employed by her company, Farthing Flowers Ltd.
She claimed Mr D’Agostino only sued her personally after realising her company was uninsured and because she is a homeowner with assets to pay compensation. Ruling that both the company and Miss Farthing are liable to pay damages, the judge said the work contract was between the florist and her employee. A further hearing will take place at a later date to determine how much Mr D’Agostino will receive in damages. Court documents have set the maximum payout at £100,000.