Bride suing wedding venue for £150,000 after slipping on dance floor

7 October 2021, 13:10 | Updated: 7 October 2021, 13:12

Cara Donovan is suing her wedding venue after she slipped over on the dance floor and broke her elbow.

A bride is suing a wedding venue for £150,000 after she slipped on the dance floor and broke her elbow.

Cara Donovan, 35, fell on the high-tech light-up dance floor at Leez Priory in Essex when she got married to husband Lee Pierson back in September 2018.

She claims staff at the wedding failed to stop people drinking on the laminated plastic floor.

According to documents filed at the High Court, the floor was known to be slippery and the supplier had warned against taking liquids onto the surface.

But Mrs Donovan claims this advice was not followed and tables were placed around the dance floor, encouraging people to dance.

She also says that when drinks were spilled, staff didn’t clear it up.

The mum-of-two has had to have three operations since her injury, but said she is still in permanent pain and unable to go back to work as a special needs teacher.

Mrs Donovan, from Romford, says she cannot write, drive, use a keyboard, or handle any two-handed machinery.

She is suing Country House Weddings Ltd, which owns 16th century Tudor manor house Leez Priory, for £150,000.

The luxury location was once voted Best UK Wedding Venue by magazine readers and is situated in 40 acres of parkland at Great Leighs, near Chelmsford, Essex.

The bride’s barrister Philip Goddard said: “During the evening, guests would go on to the dance floor — either to cross it or to dance — holding glasses of drink and occasionally spilling drink.

“The dance floor became wet with patches of spilt drink. Its underfloor lights made it difficult for those on the dance floor to see spilt liquid on the surface.”

“At about 10pm, the claimant went to dance. She slipped in the spilt drink, fell and fractured her right, dominant, arm.”

Mrs Donovan's claims have not yet been heard in evidence by a judge, while Country House Weddings Ltd's defence has not been made available from the court.

Heart.co.uk has reached out to Country House Weddings Ltd for comment.