Whooley v Dublin Corporation

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 02 June 1961
• Date: 02 June 1961
• Court: High Court

Whooley v. Dublin Corporation.

MARY WHOOLEY, an Infant, Suing by ELIZABETH WHOOLEY, her Mother and Next Friend

Plaintiff

and

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND BURGESSES OF DUBLIN

Defendants.

Negligence - Highway - Fire hydrant box in footpath of public street - Unauthorised removal of lid - Pedestrian at night putting foot into uncovered box - Injury to pedestrian - Liability of local authority - Construction of fire hydrant boxes - Necessarily such as to render boxes relatively easy to open in case of fire - Apparent interference with box by a mischievous person - Box of an old-fashioned type - No evidence that box more liable to unauthorised interference than a more modern type of box - Extent of duty of local authority to safeguard pedestrians against such unauthorised interference.

Appeal from the Circuit Court.

The plaintiff, Mary Whooley, a girl of nineteen, in her civil bill claimed £600 damages for personal injuries, loss and damage alleged to have been sustained by her at approximately 8.45 p.m. on the evening of the 11th November, 1958, and attributed by her to the negligence and breach of duty and breach of statutory duty of the defendants, their servants and agents, in or about the care, management and upkeep of the public pathway at Oxford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin, of which the defendants were owners and occupiers and of a hydrant box owned by the defendants and inserted in the said pathway, by reason of which the plaintiff's foot went into the hydrant box, causing her to fall to the ground and to suffer severe personal injuries, loss, and damage.

The particulars of negligence and breach of duty and breach of statutory duty given in the civil bill were as follows:—

"The defendants their servants and agents were guilty of negligence and breach of duty in that they 1, constructed the said hydrant box without any or any effective method of ensuring that the lid thereof would remain secure;

2, Failed to maintain the said hydrant box in a proper and safe manner;

3, Failed to maintain the chain of the lid of the said hydrant box or other method of ensuring that the lid of the said hydrant box could not become detached from the said hydrant box;

4, Failed to inspect the said hydrant box adequately or at all;

5, Failed to provide or maintain any method of locking or securing the lid of the said hydrant box;

6, Failed to take reasonable precautions against injury to persons arising from persons interfering with the...