A teacher who says she broke her elbow after slipping in a puddle of beer at one of the UK's top wedding venues has lost her £150,000 compensation claim.
Cara Donovan, 37, said she was left in agony and covered in beer after slipping in a puddle at Leez Priory, an award-winning 16th century Tudor mansion in Essex situated in 40 acres of grounds.
The special needs teacher had been in the venue's disco room during a friend's wedding when she says she slipped on the laminated plastic dancefloor, which was lit by underfloor LED lights.
The alleged accident in September 2018 left her with a badly broken elbow and, despite three operations, she says she still suffers pain and loss of function in her arm.
This week Mrs Donovan sued venue owner Country House Weddings Ltd for a payout of up to £150,000 at Central London County Court.
But after a two-day trial, Judge Heather Baucher this afternoon rejected Mrs Donovan's claim after finding that there was no evidence that the dancefloor was wet.
"She clearly fell, but she has failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that she did so due to some liquid on the dancefloor," she said in her judgment.
The supplier had warned that the surface of the dancefloor was very slippery and that no drinks should be taken onto it, the teacher's lawyers said.
Mum-of-two Mrs Donovan from Romford claimed however that little was done to prevent people drinking on the dancefloor, and told Judge Baucher that the wedding band had finished and guests had been invited into the disco room on a lower floor at the venue when she slipped.
Giving evidence, she said from the witness box: "I had not been dancing long, probably four or five different songs, when suddenly my feet shot from under me and I crashed down on my right side,"
"I could feel the wet on my dress. I was sure it was beer because it smelt strongly of beer."
Mrs Donovan said her dress had been left ruined as she was covered in beer and she spent the rest of the wedding reception sat down in agony.
Her barrister, Philip Goddard, claimed that the company was at fault because it didn't do enough to enforce its "no drinks on the dancefloor" policy.
For the company, barrister Henry Morton Jack pointed out to Mrs Donovan that there had been warning signs outside the disco room and on the DJ booth inside.
Mr Morton Jack said it was disputed that the dancefloor had been wet with beer, with neither the DJ, nor other staff, seeing anything.
"The evidence of the defendant is that there was nothing to clean up," he told the court.
He said that there was a clear rule at the venue that drinks should not be taken onto the dancefloor, with signage visible and the DJ spelling out a warning.
During events, guests would sometimes take their drinks onto the floor, he said - but those instances were "infrequent" and would be "dealt with at the time."
In a ruling on Thusday afternoon, Judge Baucher dismissed Mrs Donovan's claim, saying the only real evidence of the state of the dancefloor at the time of the accident was from the venue DJ, who confirmed he checked and it was dry.
"There was simply no evidence that there was liquid on the floor at the time, causing Mrs Donovan to slip," she said.
"Whilst her dress may have become wet at some point, I am not persuaded it did so because Mrs Donovan fell and absorbed the full extent of the spillage."
She added that the wedding company was not negligent, as it had complied with its duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that the venue was safe for guests.
Two signs had been put up banning drinks from the dancefloor, the DJ had given a verbal warning and staff circulated every 10 or 15 minutes to enforce the policy, she said.
In her conclusion she also found had also been part of the wedding contract with the bride and groom that it was their responsibility to ensure guests were aware of the rule.
