Smith claimed he could no longer tolerate confined spaces and had feared he would never be able to fly again after having been trapped in the lift
The photographs showed Mr Smith in a one-person sauna following the incident and in Rome, where he had flown to propose to his partner in front of the Trevi Fountain
A Dublin gym owner, who felt he might never fly again after having been trapped in a lift and told a judge he afterwards flew to Rome to propose to his partner, has rejected the court’s award of damages.
Robert Smith, a personal trainer, of Johnstown Place, Johnstown Road, Cabinteely, Dublin, has appealed to the High Court the €8,250 award, with a limit on costs, made to him a fortnight ago by Judge Geoffrey Shannon in the Circuit Civil Court.
During an assessment of damages in a €60,000 claim, after the lift company had admitted fault, Judge Shannon heard claims by Smith that he had developed a fear of confined spaces and had felt he might not be able to fly again.
Smith (39) accepted in cross-examination by barrister Conor Duff, for Infinity Lifts, Ennis, Co Clare, that he had posted on line pictures of himself power posing in a single person sauna and proposing to his partner at the Trevi Fountain after flying to Rome.
Judge Shannon heard Smith had turned down a €15,000 offer by Infinity Lifts to settle his claim against them.
The judge said the court had to take into consideration the photographic evidence produced by Mr Duff. He had found Mr Smith to be a genuine witness but had difficulty in reconciling the photographic evidence with his issue of claustrophobia.
Smith claimed he could no longer tolerate confined spaces and had feared he would never be able to fly again after having been trapped in the lift in June 2021 for an hour before a woman heard his cries for help.
Mr Duff had told Judge Shannon that Smith, only a few days after flying back from Rome, had failed to tell a doctor at a medical consultation about his flying activities. Counsel had asked Judge Shannon not to award any damages or a very small figure.
Rejecting a suggestion by Smith’s barrister that damages should range from between €15,000 and €40,000, Judge Shannon said that under the compensatory guidelines he had to consider fairness and proportionality.
