CANICE MCQUILLAN V PARAGON TILES LTD

Coleraine County Court
23 September 2004
Judge Rogers

The Plaintiff in this case claimed that on 5 October 2002 whilst working at the Defendant’s premises in Coleraine he sustained a laceration to his left hand whilst removing a cardboard box containing the broken pieces of a mirror to a bin in the storeroom. He alleged that he was requested to do this by the manager of the store and that no protective clothing and gloves were provided.

The Defendant’s evidence was that the Plaintiff was not asked to remove the cardboard box containing the pieces of broken mirror by the manager. He had been on his own in the store on the day in question and opened up the premises. When Mr. Tracey of the Defendants arrived shortly afterwards, the Plaintiff had already had the accident and said that it had happened when he was taking the cardboard box containing the pieces of mirror out of the shop when he hit one of the freestanding units in the shop and a piece of the mirror cut him.

He alleged that the Defendants were negligent in asking him to clear up broken glass without providing protective gloves and clothing and failing adequately to supervise him.

The Plaintiff received five sutures to the wound on his left hand at Causeway Hospital.

In dismissing the Plaintiff’s case, His Honour Judge Rogers said that there was a clear conflict of evidence between the Plaintiff’s version of events and the Defendant’s. The Defendants had alleged that at no stage had the Plaintiff been asked to clean up the glass. Their evidence was also that protective gloves were available in the shop for employees who required to use them.

His Honour dismissed the Plaintiff’s case saying that in a credibility case of this sort, he preferred the evidence of the Defendants to that of the Plaintiff.