A woman who dislocated her right shoulder after falling down a set of dark stairs has been awarded £17,000 in damages.
Karla Hodgson required surgery to repair her axillary nerve after the fall at Shaw Court in Banchory.
The 52-year-old was on her way home with bags of shopping, but missed the last step due to the dark stairwell.
She has now successfully won her personal injuries claim against Castlehill Housing Association.
Sheriff Douglas Keir heard that Mrs Hodgson had been on her way home when the incident happened at about 8pm on December 17, 2016.
While walking down a set of six stairs, she placed her shopping in her left hand and her right hand on a handrail.
The handrail, which was built in 1993 according to regulations, ended at the second bottom step.
Mrs Hodgson – who assumed once the handrail ended, so did the steps – missed the last one in the darkness, losing her footing and falling onto the landing.
Passer-by and neighbours helped
Mrs Hodgson lay there unable to move and shouted for help.
She was found by a man walking nearby, who with the help of two neighbours assisted her to her house and waited for an ambulance which took her to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary at 2.30am on December 18.
As well as the shoulder injury, she suffered soft tissue injuries to her right knee and leg.
Following her surgery, Mrs Hodgson has made “reasonable recovery” but suffers pain and stiffness in the shoulder area and has an increased risk of osteoarthritis.
In his judgement, Sheriff Douglas Keir ruled that Castlehill Housing Association “ought to have known” the lighting was “inadequate”.
He said their failure to provide lighting resulted in them not taking care that was “reasonable in all the circumstances”.
After the accident, the housing asssociation installed a solar light at the bottom of the stairs at a cost of £300.
But during the hearing, lawyers representing Castlehill Housing Association argued that Mrs Hodgson had failed to prove her accident was caused by the poor lighting.
Other than her accident, there were no registered complaints concerning the stairs since their construction.
They argued that there was therefore no reason for them to be aware of the “alleged danger”.
The stairs were used by both residents of the complex and members of the public. It was in daily use by walkers, many of whom were elderly.
‘Dark but not dark, dark’
During cross-examination, Mrs Hodgson accepted that she had used the stairs on a semi-regular basis prior to the accident, having lived at the address since 2015.
Norman Beedie, Castlehill’s property services officer for 20 years, told the court he would have installed additional lighting if he had been aware of any complaints.
He told the court that the stairs were dark but “not dark, dark”.
However, his attempt to categorise the stairs in this manner was labelled “odd and unconvincing” by the sheriff.
Awarding Mrs Hodgson £17,000, Sheriff Keir agreed with the her solicitor’s points.
He wrote: “The defenders knew there was no dedicated lighitng for the stairs. They knew that it was dark at night. It should have been obvious to them that the stairs would be dark and used by pedestrians outside daylight hours.
“They ought to have been aware of the danger and addressed it, even in the absence of prior accidents or complaints.”
Castlehill Housing Association will also have to pay Mrs Hodgson’s legal fees.
A Castlehill Housing Association spokesman said: “The court has made its decision in relation to this matter and we have no further comment to make.”
Mrs Hodgson’s representation was claim management company Quantum Claims.
Gerry Forbes, claims manager, said: “Mrs Hodgson is very happy with the outcome.
“There was a very lengthy delay to this case due to Covid and Mrs Hodgson was pleased to see it resolved.
“We gave the defenders every opportunity to settle out of court, which they refused.”
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