This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-26990303
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Woman loses damages claim after falling over Roman wall | Woman loses damages claim after falling over Roman wall |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A woman who fell over a wall at a Roman site while looking for somewhere to urinate after an evening's drinking has lost her bid to claim damages. | A woman who fell over a wall at a Roman site while looking for somewhere to urinate after an evening's drinking has lost her bid to claim damages. |
| Lisa Driver fell at The Roman Painted House in Dover in the early hours of 15 July, 2007. | |
| The mother-of-two suffered head injuries that left her with epilepsy after landing at the bottom of a bank. | |
| The High Court ruled that Mrs Driver was a trespasser in law, and rejected her claim that the site was dangerous. | |
| She has no memories of the fall, but a friend Elaine Bristow, told the court that they were not drunk, although Mrs Driver had consumed five vodka and cokes, two at her home and the rest in three different pubs. | She has no memories of the fall, but a friend Elaine Bristow, told the court that they were not drunk, although Mrs Driver had consumed five vodka and cokes, two at her home and the rest in three different pubs. |
| Mrs Bristow told the hearing that they went into the private car park at the closed site, while they waited for their taxi, as Mrs Driver wanted a "wee". | Mrs Bristow told the hearing that they went into the private car park at the closed site, while they waited for their taxi, as Mrs Driver wanted a "wee". |
| 'You were drunk' | |
| She said they had used the toilets on the site on previous occasions. | |
| Philip Williams, for the prosecution said the pair had been drinking since 19:00 BST and the taxi office did not want them there as they had "been on the pop" for six-and-a-half hours. | |
| He said: "I suggest you were drunk." | |
| Mrs Driver replied: "No, I won't accept that." | |
| The court was told there had been no other accidents since the three-foot high wall was built about 40 years ago. | |
| About 600,000 visitors had passed through the site since the wall was constructed, the court heard. | |
| Dover Roman Painted House Trust and Dover District Council had denied liability, claiming Mrs Driver was a trespasser and "the author of her own misfortune". | |
| Giving his ruling at the High Court, Judge John Leighton Williams said her agitated search for somewhere to "wee" told him that her judgment was impaired and she had probably tried to climb over the wall to relieve herself on the other side. | |
| He said: "I am not satisfied she [Mrs Driver] has an accurate memory of the detail of what happened that night. | |
| "Maybe because she wasn't asked until two years after the event, but I suspect that drink, too, played a part." |