EMMA STALKER v. GREATER GLASGOW HEALTH BOARD

[4] In addition to her own evidence, the pursuer led evidence from: Mrs Grace Cox, Mrs Anne Dean, Miss Stacey Brown, Mr William Rainey, Miss Susan Coupland and Mr Peter Cheesman.

[6] In cross-examination, the pursuer admitted that in the morning she had parked her car in the patients' and visitors' car park because she did not have a permit for the staff car park. She accepted that staff were not allowed to park there. She had to move her car because there was a four hour time limit. She was sure that there were puddles of rain water on the steps and that they were slippery due to this. She denied that she had been rushing.

[7] The pursuer gave her evidence in a manner which struck me at the time as somewhat rehearsed and unconvincing. I formed the impression that certain parts of her account, for example her description of the exceptionally cautious manner in which she descended the steps and her statement that they were "covered in water", were exaggerated and did not ring true. I am not suggesting that the pursuer set out to mislead the court, but I am bound to say that she did not impress me as a reliable historian.

[9] Mrs Cox was a credible witness and was, I thought, doing her best to assist the court. As she herself frankly admitted more than once, her recollection of the details of what took place had however faded with the passage of time. In particular, she was unable to provide a reliable description of the condition of the steps (as opposed to the tactile strips) at the material time.

[11] I found Mrs Dean to be a credible witness, but as with Mrs Cox it was plainly the case that her detailed recollection of events had diminished significantly over the years since the accident. It seemed to me that her main concern, like that of her friend, had been the slippery state of the tactile strips; she acknowledged as much in cross-examination. She was less sure in her evidence about the condition of the steps themselves.