Tate Modern sued after woman 'broke hand' on slide

The stainless steel helter-skelters installed at Tate Modern were widely hailed as an innovative contribution to high culture. But the project has come down to earth with a bump, as the London gallery is being sued by one of its users.

Kate Phillips, a charity director, allegedly injured herself on the star attraction last year. She is bringing legal action after saying she broke her hand on the exhibit, leaving her in severe pain and with difficulties working.

Ms Phillips, from Glasgow, said she needed seven stitches after sliding down one of the helter-skelters, which were designed by the Belgian artist Carsten Holler and occupy Tate Modern's cavernous Turbine Hall.

"I am claiming for the loss of facility of my right hand ... it's been a real problem," she said. "I couldn't type, write or drive for two months. I travel extensively with work but I couldn't even carry a suitcase. Only now, three months on, am I getting back to normal."

The slides are one of the main reasons for Tate Modern becoming London's most visited tourist attraction last year, overtaking the British Museum and National Gallery, according to a survey of visits to free and paid-for destinations across Britain. Five million people visited the attraction last year compared with a little more than 3.9 million in 2005, an increase of 21 per cent.

The gallery's success is attributed to blockbuster shows and innovative installations such as the slides, which more than 600,000 have been down. Tate Modern has confirmed that there have been five reported injuries. Holler has claimed that his slides, the biggest of which is 180ft tall, are a fusion of art and architecture that could be used to combat stress and depression. The artist has previously installed slides at the headquarters of the fashion house Prada in Milan.

A spokeswoman for Tate Modern said the gallery had done all it could to ensure the safety of the slides. She said users were given instruction leaflets, guidance and protective clothing. "Our advice has been approved following a full inspection by the local health and safety department of Southwark council. All of these injuries have been caused by visitors who have not followed the instructions for using the slides," she said. In the early days of the exhibit, which opened in October, the gallery installed extra rubber mats after the first people down the slides reportedly emerged with friction burns.