Updated 13 December

A gymnast who ended up in a wheelchair after lighting equipment fell on top of her during an open-air party in Qawra has been awarded €463,465 in damages.

Vladyslava Kravchenko was severely injured in the accident near Fra Ben in Qawra nine years ago when she was just 17 years old. A court found she suffered a 75 per cent disability.

On the evening of September 14, 2008, as the annual ‘End of Summer Festival’ was in full swing, strong winds had caused the lighting structure on the main stage to collapse, leaving some eight partygoers injured, among them Ms Kravchenko.

The event had been organised by Kevin Micallef and Alan Bugeja under the auspices of the St Paul’s Bay Local Council, who were sued for damages together with Sonlit Ltd., subcontracted to install the lighting structure for the event.

READ: Woman who injured spinal cord in 2008 accident says 'no lessons learnt'

Mr Justice Silvio Meli found that health and safety measures were inadequate and the organisers had failed to take sufficient precautions at the event.

The aluminum lighting structure had not been firmly secured in place and had nothing to tie or weigh it down, the court observed. That the evening was windy was no excuse once the organisers had decided that the party should go ahead. 

READ: Ex-gymnast who turned tragedy into opportunity

The court declared that all respondents were jointly responsible for the incident and consequently were to bear joint responsibility in damages.

Both organisers had chosen to go ahead with the party, the local council had obtained the relative permits and insurance cover while the lighting company had not properly secured the structure which had collapsed.

Lawyer Franco Vassallo was counsel to the applicant.