Eren Hussein had her case thrown out (Picture: Paul Keogh)

A woman who tried to claim compensation from Ronnie Scott’s after she fell down the stairs has lost her case.

A judge told Eren Hussein, 52, that her weight, drunken state and carelesness in wearing high heels contributed to the fall.

She was at the world-famous club in Soho in 2012 when she fell down a flight of stairs, round a corner and down a second flight breaking her wrist and elbow.

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Ms Hussein tried to claim thousands in damages, but the club was found not to have been responsible.


Judge Heather Baucher QC said Mrs Hussein was intoxicated, obese, wearing shoes with high platform heels, and not taking care by holding the bannister as she descended.



‘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.’

‘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.’

Ronnie Scotts was found not liable for the woman’s accident (Picture: Handout)

Judge Baucher said: ‘Mrs Hussein, at 115kg, must have taken up much of the width of the

stairway,’ said the judge, ‘but for some inexplicable reason, she did not use the handrail.’

Earlier, Mrs Hussein said she had drunk no more than a glass and a half of champagne and a glass of red wine, and was not tipsy.

But the club’s barrister Catherine Foster pointed out medical records from her arrival at hospital, in which she was described as ‘obviously drunk’ and ‘intoxicated’.

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In her ruling, Judge Baucher found Mrs Hussein was under the influence, although she said she may have been affected by painkillers and the fact she had not had alcohol for six months before the accident.

‘I find that the notes in the hospital records referred to her being intoxicated because she was so,’ said the judge.

There was nothing wrong with the lighting in the stairwell, continued Judge Baucher, who visited the scene of the accident during the trial.

Mrs Hussein had fallen because she had missed her step, something for which Ronnie Scott’s management could not be blamed.

‘In ordinary circumstances, she, like countless others, would have descended the staircase and gone home,’ continued the judge.

‘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.’

She has lost 5st since the accident.