A woman who, after a couple of drinks one evening, decided that it was a good idea to go up onto the roof and do some dancing, was given short shrift by the court recently when she claimed damages from her landlord after she fell through a skylight.
Ms Siddorn rented a flat next to a garage that had a flat roof with a skylight. The garage was owned by her landlord. She was able to access the roof from one of her windows and one night she was seized by the urge to go onto the roof and dance. Whilst doing so, she fell through the skylight and was injured.
Ms Siddorn sued her landlord arguing that he had failed to make sure the skylight was safe, had not warned her of the dangers attendant to going onto the roof and had not put in place any system of inspection and maintenance.
The landlord argued that the skylight was not unsafe and that he was not liable to Ms Siddorn because the injury resulted from her dancing near the skylight and not paying proper attention to it, rather than from the condition of the roof itself. The landlord was not aware that anyone other than workmen would access the roof and had not given Ms Siddorn permission to use it. Furthermore, he argued, she was an educated and sensible person who should have considered the risks involved.
Her claim was dismissed.
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