Paraplegic loses pounds 1m claim

Paraplegic loses pounds 1m claim

A MAN left paralysed after falling off a bar stool while drunk lost his pounds 1m damages claim in the High Court in Belfast yesterday.

Bachelor William Joy, 37, of Cookstown, Co Tyrone, had downed 13 vodkas and four pints of beer when he fell off his stool and broke his neck in the Copper Room bar in Cookstown in 1989. Mr Justice Campbell said there was no breach of duty of care on the part of the publican, Michael Newell. Mr Joy claimed the landlord was negligent in allowing him to sit on the stool while intoxicated. Described as a virtual paraplegic, Mr Joy was not in court because his wheelchair had broken, relatives said.