Rahming v the Mailboat Company Ltd
| Jurisdiction | Bahamas |
| Judge | Evans, J. |
| Judgment Date | 31 January 2014 |
| Court | Supreme Court (Bahamas) |
| Docket Number | CLE/GEN/FP 56 of 2012 |
| Date | 31 January 2014 |
Supreme Court
Evans, J.
CLE/GEN/FP 56 of 2012
Miss Ntshonda Tynes for the plaintiff.
Miss Meryl Glinton for the defendant.
Negligence - Personal Injuries — Occupier's Liability — Whether the stairway was reasonably safe for the purpose of the plaintiff and others using the same to exit the Mailboat — Whether the defendant breached its contractual duty to the plaintiff.
The plaintiff is a 62-year old woman who claims to have slipped and fell, sustaining injuries, while disembarking the motor vessel Fiesta Mailboat (“the Mailboat”) at about 2 o'clock on the morning of 14 April 2009. At the time of the alleged incident the plaintiff was 58 years old, having been born on 12 January 1951. The defendant is the owner and opera of the Mailboat.
This action was commenced on 5 March 2012 by a generally indorsed Writ of Summons in which the plaintiff claims damages for personal injuries caused by the negligence of the defendant, its servants or agents, on the Mailboat in Freeport, Grand Bahama, on or about 13 or 14 April 2009.
In her statement of claim filed 11 April 2012 the plaintiff alleges that on or about the aforesaid dates she was a passenger on the Mailboat making a trip from Nassau, New Providence to Freeport, Grand Bahama, and while attempting to leave the Mailboat after it had docked at the Freeport Harbour, via a flight of stairs, she slipped on a liquid or other slippery substance on the stairway and tumbled down the stairs, sustaining personal injury. The plaintiff alleges further that the accident and resulting injuries were caused by the negligence and/or breach of contract of the defendant, its servants or agents.
The plaintiff also alleges that the defendant exposed her to a trap, failed to warn her of dangers of which the defendant knew or ought to have known and failed to discharge its common law duty of care to her, as a result of which she suffered pain, injury loss and damage.
In its defence filed 15 May 2012 the defendant admits that it is the owner and operator of the Mailboat; does not admit or deny the plaintiff's claim regarding the alleged accident and injuries and puts her to strict proof thereof; denies the plaintiff's allegations and particulars of negligence and/or breach of contract; does not admit that the plaintiff has suffered pain, injury, loss and damage and puts her to strict proof thereof. In addition, the defendant avers that at all material times it provided, promoted and maintained safe and precautionary means of use of the stairway on the Mailboat and guarded against dangers thereon or in the use thereof be they usual or unusual dangers. While not admitting that the plaintiff slipped and fell while descending on a stairway on the Mailboat, the defendant avers that if the plaintiff did fall, it was due, wholly or in part, to her own negligence.
It was agreed that this trial would be on the issue of liability alone.
Evidence at the trial was provided by the plaintiff and her witness, Ms. Carmen Dean, and by Mr. Miraldi Kodi on behalf of the defendant. Each of the witnesses provided witness statements which were used as evidence-in-chief.
In her witness statement filed 25 November 2013 the plaintiff states:
- ) I am the plaintiff herein. I am 62 years old having been born on the 12th January 1951. 2) I am also known by my maiden name Beulah McPhee and by the name Beulah McPhee-Rahming. 3) On the 13th April 2009 I was returning to Freeport from Nassau on the Fiesta Mailboat following the Easter holiday weekend. 4) I was a paying ‘passenger and had paid a roundtrip fare of more than $100.00. 5) I was travelling with my husband, now deceased, and my 3 year old granddaughter. 6) The boat docked in the Freeport Harbour around 2 o'clock in the morning on the 14th April 2009. 7) I was awake when we arrived but I had slept for several hours during the earlier part of the journey. 8) As we approached the Freeport Harbour, members of the boat's crew came around and made several announcements that they needed the ship cleared of passengers as soon as possible because they had to make another trip. 9) I made sure my personal items were together and got ready to leave the ship. 10) I was wearing comfortable clothing, flat shoes and a small purse over my shoulder. 11) One of the male crew members took my grandchild by the hand and led her off the boat as they were doing with the other children. 12) My husband was walking behind me towards the stairs. 13) I was coming down the stairs I slipped on a wet or slippery substance and fell. 14) Prior to falling I had been looking where I was going but I did not see the substance on the ground. 15) The stairwell and the area approaching the stairwell were not well-lit. 16) I believe that if the lighting was better I would have seen the substance and would have been able to avoid it. 17) Immediately after falling I felt severe pain in my left leg and was unable to get up. 18) Three men who I believe were crew members lifted me off the boat and set me down on pallets on the dock. – 19) Sometime afterwards, an ambulance arrived and took me to the Rand Memorial Hospital and I was attended to in the Accident and Emerge Department. 20) There were no hazard or warning marks on the ship warning passengers with respect to the stairwell. 21) No one warned me about the stairwell. 22) I took proper and reasonable care for my own safety while using the stairway as I exited the boat on the 14th April 2009; I was alert; I watched where I was walking; I do not drink alcohol. 23) The contents hereof are true and correct.
Cross-examination by counsel for the defendant (Q) of the plaintiff (A) was as follows:
Q. I have only one question for you. At the time that you allegedly fell, did any other person fall with you?
A. No. Just myself.
Q. In the medical report, you indicated that you fell down 14 stairs, is that correct?
A. I don't remember.
Q: Those are my only questions for this witness.
On re-examination, the plaintiff, in response to her counsel's question as to what injuries she sustained when she fell, said: “When I fell I received…the cartilage in my knee was tom, the ligaments in my leg. And the doctor indicated that I had damaged some nerves.”
In her witness statement filed 25 November 2013 Ms. Dean states:
- ) On the 13th April 2009, I was a passenger aboard the MN Fiesta Mailboat from Nassau, New Providence to Freeport, Grand Bahama. 2) I was travelling with my sister and we were using tickets purchased by my brother, Dennis Dean, for himself and his son. 3) Before docking at the Harbour in Freeport around 2:00 a.m. on the 14th April 2009, several members of the Mailboat's staff came around a d began rushing us off the boat. 4) They told us that we needed to quickly leave the boat upon arrival in Freeport because they had to make a run to the United States that same morning. This announcement was made about 3 or 4 times. 5) When the boat docked in Freeport, I saw the plaintiff and her husband walking in front of me heading in the direction of the stairs to the boats exit. 6) I also saw the boat's staff taking the bags of passengers down the stairs and assisting small children down the stairs off the boat. 7) The stairs on the MN Fiesta Mailboat are steep and narrow. 8) As I got closer to the stairs, I saw the plaintiff on the ground on the stairs. She appeared to be in pain. 9) I said to my sister, “0 my goodness the lady fell”. 10) The plaintiffs husband tried to help her off the ground but he could no 11) Eventually, several members of staff came and carried the plaintiff down the stairs and onto the dock. 12) I saw when an ambulance came and took the plaintiff away. 13) The area of the MN Fiesta Mailboat where the plaintiff fell was dark and dimly lit. 14) During 2009 I was a regular passenger on the MN Fiesta Mailboat and I can recall frequently seeing a bucket and mop near the stairs and bathrooms as the floor near those areas was always wet. 15) I do not specifically recall seeing a bucket and mop near the stairs on the 14th April 2009 although there might have been. 16) The contents hereof are true and correct.
Cross-examination by counsel for the defendant (Q) of Ms. Dean (A) was as follows:
Q: You did not see, yourself, the liquid on the stairs? You don't recall seeing any liquid on the stairs that day?
A: No, ma'am.
Q: That's my only question for this witness.
The defendant's only witness was Mr. Miraldi Kodi, a Mechanical Engineer and Technical Advisor to the defendant since September 2002. He was not onboard the Fiesta on 13 or 14 April 2009. However, in his witness statement filed on 7 December 2013, he states:
- ) That I am a qualified Mechanical Engineer having obtained my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (Marine Elective) from Andhra University, Visakhapatnum, India. I have 11years of sailing experience within various ranks from 5th Engineer to 2 Engineer including 6 years as I Chief Engineer on Ocean going vessels. I have also had 11 years experience overseeing ships from positions on-shore in Ship Management companies as a Technical Manager/Ship manager. In this capacity, I have been responsible for overseeing and/or coordinating the operation, maintenance, surveying, repairs, supply of stores and spares for ships, amongst the duties. I have been a Technical Advisor for the defendant since September 2002. I make this witness statement in my aforesaid capacity and based upon my expertise in the field. 2) Save where otherwise specifically noted I make this statement from my own knowledge. Where the contents hereof consist of my own knowledge, they are true; and where the said contents consist of information relayed to me by other persons or derived from what is contained in documents not prepared by me, I have indicated the sources and grounds...
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