Fall down stairs caused by loose carpet

A Sheffield grandmother has been awarded £2,758 after injuring her leg as she fell down a flight of stone steps at her granddaughter's wedding.

Diana Szablij, 77, of Coward Drive, Oughtibridge was awarded the sum in an out of court settlement against The Marriott Hotel, based in Kenwood Road, Sheffield. Her award was secured with the help of Katrina Elsey of national law firm Irwin Mitchell, based at its offices in the city's Riverside.

Mrs Szablij, a grandmother of 4, had just left the wedding ceremony and was about to join the rest of the party in the hotel gardens for the photography session. As Mrs Szablij began her decent down the flight of steps to the lawn, she lost her footing, as the red carpet laid on the steps was not fixed correctly.

She said: "I had stepped forward to place my foot on the top step, but the carpet was loose and overhanging, so as I put my weight onto my foot, there was nothing solid beneath me. This caused me to fall down the entire flight of steps."

Fall down stairs results in injury

"I hurt my right leg and foot, which was badly bruised and cut, meaning I couldn't walk around for the rest of the day. Fortunately, one of the other guests at the wedding was a GP, so was able to check I wasn't too seriously injured. The wedding ushers were then kind enough to carry me around in my chair, but it did put a dampener on the day."

Following the accident, Mrs Szablij suffered discomfort in her leg and foot for a further 5 weeks. Her daughter Maria Crane wrote a letter to the hotel manager to complain about the accident, but never received a response.

Commenting on the payout, Katrina Elsey said: "The hotel was responsible for laying the carpet and should have made absolutely sure that it was fixed correctly to the steps. Unfortunately on this occasion, this essential safety measure was overlooked causing Mrs Szablij to fall.

"Not only did this cause a painful injury, but also completely spoilt Mrs Szablij's enjoyment of what should have been a happy occasion - the day of her granddaughter's wedding."

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