A bride's wedding celebrations turned to tragedy when she fell 25 feet from a hotel room window on her wedding night, leaving her in a wheelchair and destroying her honeymoon plans, the High Court in Ireland has heard.
A Catastrophic Fall on a Wedding Night
Jackie Sexton (nee Tyrrell), 37, suffered life-altering injuries including fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and severe damage to her back, leg, hip and pelvic bone in the fall on February 29, 2020. The mother-of-two took a case against the Deebert House Hotel Ltd in Kilmallock, County Limerick, alleging negligence and a breach of duty for failing to ensure her safety.
The court was told that Ms Sexton and her husband, Christopher, returned to their room, number 217, at the hotel at around 3.30am after their wedding reception. Ms Sexton, who admitted a lot of drink had been consumed during the celebrations, recalled her final memory of the night was sitting on the window sill in her underwear, with her feet on a table, while smoking a cigarette.
The Aftermath and Legal Battle
Her next memory was waking up in Limerick University Hospital with a morphine clicker. She only learned what had happened from her husband. He had returned from the bathroom to find the room empty and the window open. After looking out and seeing nothing, he heard "moaning or groaning" from the snowy, wet concrete paving below in a restricted area, which took time to access.
Her legal team submitted that "the wedding weekend was destroyed as a result of the accident". Ms Sexton, formerly an active jockey and horsewoman who worked in hospitality and medical device production, told the court she can no longer perform those jobs due to chronic back and leg pain.
A Gruelling Recovery and Case Resolution
Her rehabilitation, which occurred during the Covid pandemic, was described as "painful and scary". It involved surgery, a cervical collar, a spinal brace, a wheelchair, crutches, physiotherapy and strong medication.
The hotel denied liability, stating it had fitted window restrictors in 2014 and was in full compliance with building standards. However, on the Friday of the hearing, after Ms Sexton had begun giving evidence, both sides entered talks. By 3pm, senior counsel Barney Quirke informed Ms Justice Denis Brett that the matter had been resolved. The case, slated to last five days, was struck out with no order for costs, and the judge passed on her best wishes to Ms Sexton.
