Woman who fell down stairs was fat, drunk and careless, judge rules

Eren Hussein was seeking thousands in damages after breaking elbow and wrist at world famous jazz club

Eren Hussein fell down the stairs at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in Soho (Jeff Blackler/REX/Shutterstock)

A woman lost a civil case against Ronnie Scott’s jazz club after a judge ruled her treacherous fall down two flights of stairs occurred because she was drunk, obese and careless.

Eren Hussein was seeking thousands in damages from the world famous club after breaking her wrist and elbow after a party at the venue in 2012.

“It was dark, it was dim and I didn’t see my step as I was going down,” she told the judge. “I tumbled over and over and over and I injured myself very badly. I recall landing on my neck and the back of my head as well.”

However Judge Heather Baucher QC threw out her civil claim and instead accused her of not taking due care, referencing her 18-stone frame and platform heels.

“Mrs Hussein, at 115kg, must have taken up much of the width of the stairway. But for some inexplicable reason, she did not use the handrail,” Judge Baucher said.

“In her inebriated, obese state on three-inch platforms, that would be an obvious, simple step for anyone presented with what they saw as a hazard,” she said.

The 53-year-old company director had been at a birthday party with her pregnant daughter-in-law when the incident occurred in March 2012.

The court heard how Mrs Hussein, who has since lost five stones, walked down the left side of the stairs, despite the banister being on the right.

However Judge Baucher said that she could still have used the rail on the right, given her size at the time.

Mrs Hussein denied she had been drunk, claiming she drank no more than a glass and a half of champagne and a glass of red wine.

However, Ronnie Scott’s barrister Catherine Foster said medical records from her arrival at hospital described her as “obviously drunk” and “intoxicated”.

Judge Baucher also visited the scene of the fall and found nothing wrong with lighting, and ruled Ronnie Scott’s was not to blame for the accident.

She said: “In ordinary circumstances, she, like countless others, would have descended the staircase and gone home.

“However, on that evening, whether due to one or more of the factors – painkillers, weight, shoes, drink – she simply missed her footing.

“I find she did so through no fault on the part of Ronnie Scott’s.”