An elderly woman, who broke three ribs in a fall in the Helix Theatre, Dublin, has been awarded almost €19,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.
Counsel for retired bank clerk Eileen McCormack told the court she suffered broken ribs and had to have blood drained from her chest cavity following the 2006 fall.
Mrs McCormack (80) of Glencloy Road, Whitehall, fell as she left the Viennese Strauss Gala Concert.
Circuit Court president Mr Justice Matthew Deery said she had toppled on steps as she left the back row of the upper balcony and had hit a wall. Judge Deery awarded damages and costs on a 50-50 basis against UAC Management Ltd, which trades as The Helix, and the theatre designers, architects Wejchert and Partners Ltd, of Lower Baggott Street, Dublin.
He said the accident may not have happened or Mrs McCormack may have been partly restrained in her fall had the designers included a hand rail on the exit gangway.