At London’s High Court this week, a £6 million pound compensation claim for a swimming accident has not been successful
In August 2006, Kylie Grimes suffered life-changing injuries in an accident when she was just 18 years old. She had gone to a party at her friend’s house whilst her friend’s parents were away. During her time there, Ms Grimes dived into the swimming pool at the house but hit her head on the floor of the pool.
In the accident, she suffered serious injury breaking vertebrae below her neck. The injury has left her wheelchair bound for the rest of her life
Ms Grimes tried to seek personal injury compensation from the owner of the pool, her friend’s father, David Hawkins. Her legal team argued at the High Court that Mr Hawkins had broken the Occupiers’ Liability Act, and hence was responsible for paying compensation to Ms Grimes for her injuries. The pool house should have been locked off or should have contained warning signs about the dangers of diving into the pool, they argued.
However, describing the 1.8metre pool as not unsafe for diving, the Judge in the case ruled in favour of Mr Hawkins. They also stated that it was not necessary for a pool owner to stop adults diving into an ordinary sized pool whose dimensions are visible to all. The Judge concluded that Ms Grimes did something that she knew involved an obvious risk.