Compensation Paid To Club Stewardess
DAMAGES have been paid to a former club stewardess who suffered lifelong injuries in a fall from a fire escape.
Barbara Eastwood broke her back and smashed her ankle when she plunged 12ft from the fire escape at Kirkheaton Liberal Club, where she worked.
The rotten platform had already been condemned as unsafe by fire officers.
Mrs Eastwood, 52, of New Road, Kirkheaton, has not worked since the fall in October 2002.
Now she has won a “substantial” pay-out after an arduous five-year compensation bid.
She said: “I’m relieved it’s all over.
“I have been told I’m going to have pain for the rest of my life. I’m permanently on pain-killers.
“I can’t do certain things. I used to love dancing and going for walks. I can’t wear certain shoes and I feel self-conscious wearing skirts.
“It’s frustrating more than anything.”
Mrs Eastwood, a grandmother of one, had been working at the club at New Road for a year when the incident happened.
She was showing some workmen the damage to the fire escape when she fell.
She said: “I had just stepped out on to the escape when it suddenly collapsed beneath me.
“I fell to the floor below and landed on my feet on a covered manhole.
“I was in agony and it later became apparent that I had fractured my vertebra and smashed my right heel.
“I managed to return to work for a while after the accident, but I needed further surgery to my heel and have not worked since.
“It’s something which should never have happened.
“If it had been someone older who had fallen, or someone more vulnerable, they could easily have died.
“I count myself lucky that the manhole was covered or it could have been a lot worse.”
After several operations, Mrs Eastwood still walks with a limp and can not stand for prolonged periods.
But she said she did not resent the club for the accident.
“At the end of the day I’m grateful to the club because they accepted full liability straight away,” she said.
“I hope this sends a message about the importance of health and safety at work.”
Claire Newstead, of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, advised Mrs Eastwood.
She said: “We are delighted that her employer admitted liability and that Mrs Eastwood has received a payment which will help her live as normal a life as possible from now on.
“This should be a warning to other employers going forward – the importance of maintaining areas where staff go is paramount and the fire escape should not have deteriorated to that extent.”