Chip

A man could be awarded substantial damages after a ruling that a fall in his home while adjusting a light bulb which left him disabled was partly the fault of the local council.
Fifty-year-old Ken Davies suffered spinal injuries - and can now only walk with the aid of two sticks - after he fell down the stairs of his council house in Denbigh in 1996 after a night of drinking.

Although he admitted drinking 10 pints of beer several hours beforehand, Mr Davies took legal action because the light fitting had been placed above the top step of his staircase, rather than above the landing.

In a statement, Mr Davies' solicitors said: "The alcohol element was only one small issue in this case and it was always conceded that a significant finding of contributory negligence would be made.

"Mr Davies, his wife and family are relieved about the outcome of the case. The incident had a devastating impact on them."

A judge sitting at the High Court in Chester ruled that while Mr Davies shared half of the blame, Denbighshire Council and the electrical contractors who fitted the light were also responsible.

As well as limited mobility, Mr Davies has limited feeling in his hands.

I know I will never be able to do things like play football with my grandchildren



He was injured when he fell down the stairs while trying to adjust a flickering light bulb in the early hours of the morning.

The house was owned by the old Glyndwr Authority but shortly after the victim's fall, Denbighshire Council was created and it inherited the legal dispute.

As the successor authority the judge ruled they were 25% to blame and a firm of electrical contractors who had installed the light fitting was also 25% to blame.

'Degree of comfort'

The main electrical contractors involved in the renovation of the council house were cleared of any blame.

"I am so pleased that Mr Davies will now be compensated to the extent that will allow him a degree of comfort," said his solicitor Robert Talog Davies.

No date has been set for a ruling on how much compensation Mr Davies will get.

In a statement, Denbighshire Council said: "The council feels it was fully justified in its decision to defend this claim and is extremely disappointed in the outcome of the hearing.

Nobody from the firm of electrical contractors was available for comment.


10 pints. Christ I couldn't walk after 10 pints let alone change a bulb. Guy's a f'kin idiot if you ask me.


Chip.

corradoboy

It must have been the 10 pints that led him to try changing it. Council estate wallers usually just ring the council to get them to do it for them.

P!ss taking scrounging g!ts.

Scooby Snacks 23

"Alcohol element was only a small issue"

10 pints a "small issue"!!! I couldn't drink that then change a light bulb. Come to think of it, I couldn't drink at all!

Scooby96

NO ******* WAY

10 PINTS - FFS

Council house scum spending taxpayers money on ******* beer then suing them cos HE decided to change a light bulb whilst p1ssed.

flat4

i don't get it? if i drove my car after ten pints and hit a lamp post, could i get compensation because the road was too close to the post, and then claim that the alcohol element was only one small issue i blame americans for this [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

ajm

Not a brass farthing. In fact he should pay for his own medical care as well as the time of all the poeple he has wasted.

Spoon

That's the law Chip.

In an ideal world he shouldn't be able to claim a bean after drinking ten pints, but as he was deemed partly responsible for the unfortunate event due to his alcohol consumtion he only takes a cut in compensation as the light fitting was deemed in a dangerous location.

Any spinal injury is dire but at least he can still walk, most end up in wheelchairs unable to function anywhere near their pre-accident condition.

I'll never forget being 20% to blame in a car accident for being a back seat passenger and for being at the scene when the accident occured!!

I'll also never be able to forget my injuries.

The law's an *** and an *** with a huge crack too!!

Graz

Ahh, but 10 pints of Tesco value lager doesn't get you very pissed at all

Da Booga

Shouldn't get a penny [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

On a lighter note, it is funny how many times I have decided to mend things when i'm drunk, is it just me?

Such as when I decided to mend the loose toilet seat resulting in me waking the next morning in bed with the seat! (Still can't remember to this day how or why)

Redkop

I assume he managed alright to change it, probably numerous times before when sober?!

Like I was partially to blame for not seeing a huge pothole in the footpath & breaking an ankle in the pitch dark, because the Council couldnt be arsed to repair the broken streetlamp!

Spoon

I doubt he'd have attempted it without the Dutch courage!!

rik-1

I wonder what sort of results we'd get if this sort of claim was put to a jury.

pugoetru

as the adverts say where theres blame theres a claim

he should blame the landlord for letting him drink so much that he thought he was superman

the more people that win these stupid claims the more it will happen

Spoon

He very nearly ended up like him too!

scoobydooooo

why didn't the sponging **** sue the brewery as well ?? god stuff like this makes me sick !!!

fast bloke

looking at it from the other side - this guy has a few pints, falls and screws up the rest of his life - if the light had been fitted in a safe place it probably would have resulted in such severe injuries.


We did some work to the house last year and I wanted a second fitting put at the high point on the stairs, as the one on the landing didn't give enough coverage. The spark refused to do it on the basis that I would be unable to change the bulb using normal household steps/ladders, and that if I injured myself trying it would be his responsibility for fitting it. He also told me that building control would not pass the house with a fitting in such a place.

Building control abide very strictly by a set of rules, so I am assuming there is something in the 16th edition about this?

If this is the case, then drunk or not, the guy in question deserves compensation

Chip

But if the light was on the landing then the stairs wouldn't have been lit so he might have fallen down them. And I reckon he'll use the stairs a lot more times than he'll change a light bulb.

Chip.

fast bloke

Chip -

Scooby-Doo

How come he could afford 10 pints ?

Redkop

If he was changing the lightbulb at all........ could be a concocted story What proof was there he was changing it - eh?

scoobydooooo

you can't be serious , you must be having a laugh !!

Chris L

The next time someone is up on a drink driving charge (I hope not, but you get the idea..), try telling the judge that the 'Alcohol element was only a small issue'.

See how far you get....

The world has gone well and truely mad.

Chris