Can it be right for a woman who broke her wrist in a pub fall to demand £4.2m in damages?
But HR manager Carmen insists she now needs help with her leg waxes, manicures and blow dries
vulnerable to preoccupation with health-related issues’.
Judge Baucher examined the wrist scar in December 2014. ‘it was so faint it was not visible at a short distance,’ she said.
‘ i had to look at it at close examination to see it.
‘the fact the claimant ordinarily wears a bracelet to hide it is entirely a matter for her, but for anyone to believe it was suggestive of selfharming, as she contended, would require them to be very close and personal with her.’
Most damning of all, however, was Judge Baucher’s comment that Ms Mazo was ‘extremely volatile and aggressive when cross-examined’. She added: ‘i did not find the claimant to be a credible witness.’
Why on earth, then, has Ms Mazo been given leave to appeal the original judgment, which granted her a more than generous sum of £ 156,871.82, given that so many doubts were raised about her credibility and the scope of her claim?
one legal expert told the Mail last night that it was simply a matter of procedure; that while Ms Mazo had been given permission to appeal, it was highly unlikely that the original judgment would be overturned unless the original judge was seen to have erred legally by the three senior judges who will review the case.
Andrew Parker, a personal injury expert at DAC Beachcroft, who has advised the Government and insurance companies on civil litigation, adds: ‘She has already got a substantial reward by any view.
‘though each case must be judged on its facts, what i sense here is that she clearly blames everything that has happened to her on this accident and i do think we have a cultural problem around that. People are always looking for someone or something to blame and that’s a bit of the feel of this.
‘Wherever you see someone who wants a lot more than a court has been prepared to give them, i’ve seen those cases time and time again and the reality is usually something different.’
indeed, much reference was made at the original hearing to Ms Mazo’s obsession with her legal complaint and the belief the litigation was, in fact, perpetuating her illness.
As Judge Baucher put it: ‘ in short, these proceedings became her focus. She now lays everything at the door of a “bartender’s irresponsibility”.’
For the time being, then, there is still no resolution to this troubling case. No date has yet been set for any future hearing, though, given the current backlog of cases going through the High Court, it could take up to 18 months.
in the meantime, it is impossible to know for sure exactly how Ms Mazo’s life has been affected by that split-second fall in 2009.
She claims to have three disabilities: arthritis, scarring and depression, ‘ all caused by the accident’. But she looked cheery enough when she flicked a Churchillian ‘ V’ sign with her right hand from the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice earlier this week.
Having been given leave to appeal, if she ultimately wins her court case, then she will certainly have further cause to celebrate.
So, too, will the ambulancechasing ‘ no win, no fee’ law firms who make millions when claims like these are settled or won.
For now, however, this sorry legal drama drags on.
it’s business as usual at the Westbourne pub, though owner Sebastian Boyle, a former boyfriend of Jade Jagger, was not available for comment. Any future payout will be made by his public liability insurers rather than coming out of his own pocket.
But while he gets on with his life, Ms Mazo’s appears to be suffering under the weight of her legal action.
For surely the scars on her wrist will be as nothing when compared to those left behind by a costly and bitter court case which, six years after she fell, as yet shows no sign of concluding.