[Anna Mayers, who fell off a garage roof after a night's partying. The 29-year-old says her landlord should have warned her not to dance on the roof after drinking] Posted on 03/27/2007 10:25:34 AM PDT by kiriath_jearim
A young graduate who crashed through a skylight while dancing on her roof during a drunken party is suing her landlords for not warning her of the dangers.
Anna Mayers was celebrating her 24th birthday at the flat she rented with university friends when the near-fatal accident happened.
She has recovered from severe head injuries from the fall, but is now seeking substantial damages from the property's owners, claiming the skylight was a "hazard" and that she should have been warned that it was dangerous.
But the High Court heard that Mrs Mayers, who was studying for a postgraduate Master of Philosophy degree at University College, London at the time, was a 'highly intelligent' woman who should have known better.
[Anna Mayers, who fell off a garage roof after a night's partying. The 29-year-old says her landlord should have warned her not to dance on the roof after drinking]
The case is likely to set a legal precedent that will affect the warnings landlords have to give their tenants about dangers in and around their properties.
The court heard that Mrs Mayers and her friends had used a window to get on to the roof of a garage attached to her flat in Islington, North London, at midnight on February 9, 2002.
The group, who were all graduates of the University of Leeds, had gone out there to dance, but Mrs Mayers stepped backwards on to the glass skylight, falling through it.
James Couser, for the flat's owners Piyush and Naginbhai Patel, of Hendon, North-West London, said the decision to go onto the roof was "foolhardy".
Not only was she a "trespasser" with no right to go on to the garage, which was not part of the flat she was renting, but it was dark and she had been drinking, he said.
Mrs Mayers, who is now aged 29, had drunk "four or five" glasses of wine and eaten vodka jelly, he told the court.
"She is not a seasoned drinker but had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol. Venturing out on to the roof while drunk and then walking backwards without first looking is an inherently dangerous thing to do.
"What caused this accident was not the state of the roof but the state of Mrs Mayers."
It was simple "common sense" not to go on to the roof, he added.
Mrs Mayers, who originally from the Wirral in Merseyside, now works as a town planner for Westminster Council in London.
She has no recollection of the accident because of her injuries. But she told the court that no one had ever told her or her flatmates not to go on to the roof, which they had considered a good spot for sunbathing.
She also denied being drunk, insisting she was not a heavy drinker and had been no more than "merry". She claimed she spent most of her evening dancing rather than drinking.
Her barrister, Stephen Killalea QC, conceded that Mrs Mayers may be partly to blame for the fall but said the bulk of the liability lies with the Patels.
He said the skylight was a "trap" and that had she known of the risk, she would never have gone on to the roof.
If Mrs Mayers is successful in her claim, the amount of damages she will receive will be set at a later date.
Earlier this month the Court of Appeal dismissed a £150,000 damages claim against the Royal British Legion from a woman who broke her leg after falling into a hole left when a maypole was removed from a village green.
The hole had become exposed after being filled in two years earlier.
The claim against the Legion was lodged by Yvonne Cole, an antiques shop owner from Eastbourne, East Sussex.
But the judges said that traditions held dear by millions would be ruined if the damages claim was allowed to stand.
In some cases, they argued, accidents did happen and no one should be blamed.
Semi-Guilty.
The owners should sue her for endangering their tenants.
Dumb B!tch
That is all.
Sun-bathing pictures ???
With idiots like this it is going to be one messed up town very shortly.
Whenever we go out to bars and restaurants, I always make sure to keep an eye out for drunks dancing on the roof. This could happen again.
ROTFFLMFAO!!!
The Clinton legacy, for sure!!
Paging John Edwards. Paging John Edwards. This woman needs a slip and fall lawyer.
In my opinion, Mrs. Mayers should be charged with trespassing, made to pay for the skylight and any other damage she caused, and made to pay both her own and her landlord's court costs.
Just one word... DDDDDdddddduuuuuuuhhhhhhhhHHHHHH!
Unfortunatly, she'll probably win...
I know someone who did this when I was in high school on a building under construction, he died. I never heard of any law suit.
Perhaps she worked for the Ministry of Silly Walks.
Trying but failing to qualify for a Darwin nomination.
It's over. She lost.
You should read through to the end.
But, but, she has a doctorate in philosopy. Should have made her more philosophic about the consequences of stupid activities.
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