Woman sues State after falling at NAPA

A BARATARIA woman who slipped on a staircase at the Lord Kitchener Auditorium of the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) Port of Spain campus in 2013 is suing the Attorney General for negligence.

Annmarie Allison Wilson is seeking compensation after she fell, injuring her back, lower hip and elbow on December 12, 2013. Wilson’s claim for compensation is being heard by Justice Margaret Mohammed in the Port of Spain High Court.

In her testimony yesterday, Wilson denied she was in an unauthorised area backstage when the accident took place. She was at NAPA to pick up her daughter after a school concert.

Her lawsuit claims the marble staircase was dimly lit and she lost her footing, slipped and fell down five steps. She reported the incident to the police, and was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where she was treated.

According to her lawsuit, she has headaches, pain, limited range of motion and has spent a little over $41,000 in medical expenses, which she is seeking to recover from the State.

During her testimony, Wilson insisted there were no signs saying she should not be in the area in which she fell.

“There were no signs saying I couldn’t go there.”

In her evidence, Faith Douglas, the former front-of-house co-ordinator at NAPA, said she prepared a report on the incident, although it was not submitted as evidence in the case.

She said she did not see the actual fall, but as far as she recalled, she could not remember seeing any "off-limits" signs in the backstage area. Douglas said parents would pick up their children who performed from the backstage area, and she could not deny that Wilson slipped and fell on the stairs in that area.

“I was not there,” she said.

Wilson is represented by attorney Keith Scotland. Her lawsuit contends the State failed to take reasonable care to ensure the facility was safe and to prevent her injuries.

Also submitted as evidence in the case was a series of newspaper articles on defects and structural faults and failures at NAPA.