The Plaintiff, Ethel McKenzie sued the De Courcey Centre Limited alleging that she had slipped and fallen on it's premises in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim on 23rd January 2002. The Plaintiff, a 68 year old woman claimed that there was water on the surface of the corridor floor as she came from the female toilets she walked across this water which caused her to slip and fall.
The Security Guard was tasked to the scene and ultimately a copy of the video from the closed circuit TV was made available and this captured the incident on camera.
It was clear to see that the Plaintiff walked along the corridor. She then saw something on the ground. She bent down to pick it up, then simply appeared to lie down.
A copy of this video was sent to the Plaintiff's Solicitors, who in turn sent it on the Legal Aid Department. Legal aid was granted on 7th July 2003 and the case proceeded to Trial on 19th April 2004.
A copy of the video tape was the central part of the Defendant's defence and was shown to the Judge. Judge Wells in his summing up said that on the balance of probabilities he did not think that the Plaintiff had slipped, nor did he believe that there was water on the floor. He was far from satisfied with the Plaintiff's claim and dismissed the Civil Bill. As the Plaintiff was legally aided the usual Legal Aid Order was made in relation to costs.