Woman seeks £405k from States after fall at hospital

Simone Simon told the hearing at the Royal Court that the fall had ruined her life because she had been left with chronic pain and disability and was unable to work or have a social life.

Ms Simon had been visiting her mother in the Carey Ward on 29 June 2014 when she fell over in the corridor and smashed into the wall, hurting her right hip, right knee, right ankle, left hand and wrist, and exacerbated pre-existing neck and shoulder pain.

Ms Simon said that she fell awkwardly in a twisting motion because she had recently undergone breast reconstruction surgery and it was on her mind as she fell.

The next day when she woke up she said she felt like she’d been ‘run over by a bus’ and that it was a ‘very frightening experience’.

She explained to the court that at the time of the incident she had just beaten cancer and was starting to get her life back on track with a fitness regime that included swimming and she was looking forward to returning to her work as a nurse for the terminally ill.

She said her work had always given her a huge amount of fulfilment and satisfaction.

Along with physical injuries, Ms Simon said she also suffered psychologically because it had ruined her life, and she was confined to her home and it was impossible to have a social life.

Acting in defence for the States, Advocate Gordon Dawes said Ms Simon’s fall was a modest incident with only minor injuries.

Advocate Dawes referred to the notes of the doctor who treated Ms Simon in Accident & Emergency that afternoon. He highlighted that the doctor had written ‘multiple minor injuries’ and that he had found no fractures or bone injuries.

Advocate Dawes said there had been inconsistencies in the injuries which Ms Simon had claimed for over the years since 2014, and he also said some of the injuries were a ‘personal diagnosis’ by Ms Simon.

Advocate Dawes said Ms Simon had been a very ‘unlucky’ person in life and had suffered a number of previous injuries, including five road traffic accidents, a lifting injury, a fall at work, and a serious assault in February 2014.

He said there was a long and complex backdrop to Ms Simon’s fall, and the States could not be held to account for historical conditions, including a background of depressive illness.

The defence did not agree with Ms Simon that the fall had affected her future earnings.

A value of £5,000 was placed by the defence on the injuries incurred by Ms Simon, and Advocate Dawes said professional guidelines to assess damages had been consulted in reaching that figure.

In the claim documents submitted to the Royal Court, Ms Simon alleged that there was a failure by a Health & Social Care employee to alert with warning signs or a cordon to the wet and slippery floor.

Ms Simon is claiming for pain, suffering and loss of amenity and psychological damage.

She is also claiming special damages for loss of earnings, and care costs for the six-month post-accident period, such as help with dressing, washing, making meals and cleaning the house.

Orthopaedic and psychiatric doctors are due to give evidence in the case.