The Court of Session has recently dashed the personal injury compensation hopes of one man who tripped and fell while playing tennis because he was wearing the ‘wrong’ shoes, it was recently reported.
Terence Connelly fell during a game of tennis at the David Lloyd club, based in Renfrew, over a decade ago, suffering severe arm injuries. Mr Connelly blamed his fall on both the carpeted court he was playing on and the rib-soled tennis shoes he was wearing at the time of the accident, which occurred in 2001.
For the last eight years, Mr Connelly has been attempting to make accident claims against Whitbread PLC, the owner of the club, on the grounds that the club should have known that players wearing anything but smooth-soled shoes faced a very real risk of injury by doing so. However, the three-judge Court of Session, comprised of Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Philip, and Lord Bonomy, said that the injured man hasn’t got a leg to stand on, as there was no way for the club owner to foresee such an accident, upholding the decision of Paisley Sheriff Court to dismiss the case in March of 2009.
Mr Connelly’s injuries came from an incident that occurred in late October of 2001, when he and a friend had been playing tennis at the club. While there was indeed a sign near the tennis court which informed players should not play without wearing proper footwear, the sign did not specifically state which type of shoes would be ideal. The injured man, who ha no experience with playing on such a specialised carpeted surface before that day, had been wearing rib-soled tennis shoes, which led his feet to ‘stick’ as he was playing the match, causing him to fall heavily on his arm after his foot jarred suddenly to a halt and catching him by surprise.