A man who claimed he was injured by swing doors in a pub lost his €38,000 damages claim against the bar yesterday when a witness told a judge the claimant fell after he had "given him a box".
Anthony Mayland, a taxi driver, Kilcross Lawns, Sandyford, Dublin, told the Circuit Civil Court he had been injured in March 2006 when another customer of the Sandyford House pub had burst open the swing doors, striking him in the back as he smoked in the front porch.
He had had five or six pints and had gone outside for a smoke.
Darren May, Moreen Road, Sandyford, called to give evidence by pub owner Myles Walsh, said he had given Mr Mayland a box as he stood on the footpath outside the pub. He said Mayland had fallen up against a woman and both had fallen.
Valerie Daly and her daughter, Sandra, told Circuit Court president Mr Justice Matthew Deery that Mr Mayland had fallen as the result of a punch as he stood on the footpath away from the doors.
Judge Deery said he preferred the evidence of Mr May, who had admitted giving Mr Mayland a punch in the face, and the Dalys.