Fgura local council has been ordered to pay damages of €42,736.58 to a former hairdresser who fell while buying vegetables from a street vendor as a result of a poorly-maintained pavement.

The incident happened on November 9, 2010 in Triq il-Kitba and the woman, Sonia Mifsud, sued the council in 2013 after it refused to compensate her.

The woman insisted that the council was solely responsible for the incident owing to negligence of its duty to properly maintain the pavement.

The woman said that as a result of the incident she fractured a bone in one of her feet and was no longer able to work as a hairdresser in her Vittoriosa shop.

The council denied responsibility and said the pavement was in a good state at the time of the incident.

The court in its considerations said there was no doubt that the council was responsible for the pavement, and pictures taken at the time of the incident showed that the pavement was in a bad state.

In considering the damages, the court observed that the woman had not presented evidence regarding her income as a hairdresser and this alleged income was therefore not being taken into consideration.

The court, however, considered caselaw with regard to compensation given to housewives in virtue of the value of their work. The court also considered that she had suffered a 25% permanent disability.

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