Injury from Collapsing Chairs or Fixtures in Public Venues

You don’t expect a chair to give way beneath you, or a fixture to come loose without warning. But it happens—and when it does, the injuries are often more serious than people realise. A broken seat in a café, a loose railing in a public hall, or a collapsing table in a waiting area can cause lasting harm, both physical and practical.

At John O’Leary Solicitors LLP, we’ve worked with people across Tallaght and Dublin who’ve found themselves in exactly that position—hurt in a place where they should have been safe. We know how quickly the situation can be dismissed, and how important it is to get clear advice from someone who takes you seriously.

For more than 20 years, we’ve helped clients win these claims with care and precision. If you were injured because something wasn’t properly maintained or repaired, you may be entitled to take action. Get in touch with John O’Leary Solicitors LLP to speak to a local solicitor who’ll give you straight answers and steady support.

Where and Why These Injuries Happen

Injuries from collapsing chairs and fixtures can happen in almost any public space. The problem often isn’t what the item was used for—it’s how it was maintained, assembled, or monitored. Below are the settings where these incidents typically occur, followed by a breakdown of why they happen in the first place.

Common Public Settings Where Collapses Occur

Cafés, pubs, and restaurants:Seating in food premises is subject to heavy use and frequent cleaning. Folding chairs, bar stools, and lightweight dining chairs may become unstable over time, especially if staff aren’t trained to check for damage or tighten fixings.
Hotels, reception areas, and lounges:In these settings, chairs and tables may be decorative as well as functional. Older furniture or poor-quality imported items can deteriorate quickly under repeated use. Accidents may also involve wall-mounted coat hooks or fixtures in bathrooms or changing areas.
Public buildings:Waiting rooms in clinics, health centres, libraries, and council offices often rely on plastic moulded seating or connected bench systems. These are rarely inspected, and failure often occurs at hidden joints or connections to walls or flooring.
Event venues, churches, and community halls:Stacked chairs used for events, ceremonies, or local meetings may be set up hastily and under pressure. Where chairs are old or stored poorly, frames can weaken. Fixtures like handrails, pulpit steps, or stage edges are also prone to failure when not checked regularly.
Gyms, schools, and sports clubs: Changing rooms, halls, and indoor bleachers or benches often have foldable or modular seating. These are frequently repositioned or stored by part-time staff or volunteers, and when used improperly—or when already weakened—they can collapse unexpectedly.
Shops and fitting rooms: Retailers may offer chairs for trying on shoes, sitting while waiting, or temporary use by elderly customers. These are often overlooked in maintenance, and collapses occur when the base gives way or the chair shifts due to unsteady legs or broken welds.

Why These Injuries Happen

Poor Maintenance and Wear Over Time

Chairs and fixtures used by the public tend to see a high volume of traffic and a wide range of use patterns. Without regular inspection or replacement, the structure can weaken silently—until it fails. Common maintenance issues include:

Loose bolts or screws
Cracked plastic or fatigued metal frames
Missing washers, spacers or floor fixings
Warped wood or plywood weakening from moisture

Improper Assembly or Setup

Even relatively new furniture can pose a hazard if not assembled correctly. This often applies in event or community spaces where chairs are regularly taken down and put back up. Common issues include:

Frames not locked into position
Legs bent or crossed during stacking
Wall-mounted items attached to unsuitable surfaces
Weight-bearing fixtures installed without proper anchors

Overuse or Unsuitable Furniture

Public venues sometimes use residential-grade furniture or cheaper commercial items that aren’t designed for continuous or varied use. For example:

Using decorative wooden chairs in high-traffic cafés
Plastic chairs outdoors without UV protection (leading to brittleness)
Fold-down church seating intended for occasional use but used daily

Misuse or Improper Handling by Staff

While less frequent, some incidents occur due to negligent placement or careless handling by venue staff. Examples include:

Placing chairs on uneven surfaces
Overloading wall hooks or rails
Leaving damaged chairs in use after a complaint
Failing to mark off a broken fixture before it’s repaired

Ageing Infrastructure and Infrequent Checks

In public buildings, older fixtures like pews, radiators with bars, grab rails, or wall-mounted seating are rarely part of routine inspection. Without formal checks or scheduled upgrades, decay and structural fatigue are left unaddressed.

Who Is Responsible When Seating or Fixtures Fail

When a chair gives way or a fixture collapses in a public venue, liability usually comes down to a straightforward question: who was responsible for keeping that space safe? Irish law places a legal duty on those who operate, manage, or control a space to take reasonable steps to prevent avoidable harm. That includes making sure seating and fittings are in safe, usable condition.

Venue Operators and Occupiers

The person or business responsible for managing the space—known in law as the occupier—holds the primary duty to ensure that visitors are not exposed to foreseeable risks. This applies to:

Restaurants, pubs, and cafés
Event organisers in hired venues
Religious organisations managing church premises
GP surgeries, dental clinics, and health centres
Leisure centres, sports halls, and gyms
Retailers, barbers, salons, and small businesses

Occupiers must:

Inspect furniture and fixtures regularly
Remove or repair damaged items
Respond promptly to reports or complaints
Ensure that new furniture is suitable for its intended use

The law does not require perfection—but it does require reasonable care. If a venue allows damaged chairs, unstable tables, or broken fittings to remain in use, and someone is injured as a result, they may be held legally responsible.

Third-party Contractors and Service Providers

In some cases, responsibility is shared with contractors. Examples include:

A cleaning company that disassembles or repositions furniture and fails to report damage
A maintenance provider that completes poor-quality repairs
An event hire company that supplies or sets up collapsible furniture
A fitout company that installs wall-mounted fixtures without adequate supports

While the occupier remains the first point of liability, third-party contractors may also be liable if their direct actions created the hazard.

Liability will depend on:

The contractor’s role in setup or maintenance
Whether their service agreement covered inspection or safety checks
Whether the occupier supervised or delegated those responsibilities

Suppliers and Manufacturers

Although less common, there are situations where the item itself is defective due to a manufacturing or design fault. Examples include:

A chair that splits or collapses under normal use
Welds that fail despite proper assembly
A bracket that shears off due to a flaw in the casting
A product that doesn’t meet safety standards for its intended use (e.g. wall hooks that can’t hold the advertised weight)

In these cases, liability may extend to:

The manufacturer
The supplier or distributor
An importer, if the product was brought in from outside the EU

To succeed in a product liability claim, it must be shown that:

The product was defective at the point of sale or manufacture
The defect caused the collapse
The item was being used in a normal, expected way

Product liability cases often require technical inspection or expert analysis.

Shared or Leased Premises

Where a space is rented or operated jointly—such as a community hall leased to local groups, or a church used by more than one organisation—liability can become more complex. The key questions are:

Who supplied the chair or fixture?
Who was responsible for setup or inspection?
Who had control of the space at the time of the incident?

Lease agreements, booking terms, and maintenance logs may be used to determine who held that control and what responsibilities they accepted in writing.

Legal Requirements for a Viable Collapse-related Claim

For a collapsing chair or fixture claim to succeed, the law requires more than just proof of injury. A solicitor must show that the venue operator or another responsible party failed to take reasonable care—and that this failure caused the incident. This section breaks down the important legal elements that determine whether a claim is valid.

Foreseeability and Preventability

The first test is whether the risk was foreseeable. In other words, would a reasonable venue operator have been expected to notice the issue and take action?

In collapse-related claims, foreseeability often turns on:

Obvious wear or damage: cracked legs, bent supports, loose screws
Long-term usage: items used daily without inspection or maintenance
Prior complaints: previous reports about a specific chair, rail, or bench
Visible instability: furniture that wobbles, sags, or shifts

If the danger was clearly visible—or should have been noticed during routine checks—it will usually be considered foreseeable.

Next, we look at preventability. This refers to whether the hazard could have been removed, repaired, or isolated before someone was injured. Most collapses result from issues that could have been fixed with minimal cost or effort, such as removing a chair from use or re-tightening bolts.

Where something could have been prevented through ordinary care, and wasn’t, this may establish negligence.

Causation

Causation means the injury must have been directly caused by the collapse or failure—not by another unrelated factor. This often involves:

Medical records showing the nature and location of the injury
Photographs of the broken chair or fallen fixture
Witness statements confirming the collapse
An incident report logged on the day
CCTV, where available

For example: if a person falls and injures their back because a chair leg gave way, and the injury is consistent with that event, the causal link is usually clear.

Claims may fail on causation grounds if:

The chair didn’t collapse, and the person fell due to their own imbalance
The fixture wasn’t used as intended
The injury can’t be medically linked to the event (e.g. a pre-existing condition is blamed instead)

Reasonable Use by the Injured Person

The injured person must have been using the chair or fixture in a normal, expected way. Examples of reasonable use include:

Sitting on a chair during a meal, meeting, or service
Using a coat hook to hang a bag or jacket
Resting on a bench while waiting in a reception area
Holding a handrail while descending steps

If the person was misusing the item, the claim may be weakened. Examples include:

Standing on a chair to change a lightbulb
Sitting on the edge of a folded table
Hanging excessive weight on a light-duty fixture
Using stacked or stored furniture without permission

That said, context matters. A venue must expect that members of the public will behave in reasonably foreseeable ways—even if not ideal. A child leaning on a rail or a person using a folding chair without being told it was off-limits may still succeed in a claim.

Breach of Duty

Once it’s shown that the hazard was foreseeable and preventable, the question becomes whether the venue operator or contractor breached their duty of care.

Evidence of breach may include:

No record of inspections or maintenance
Ignored customer or staff complaints
Use of unsuitable or outdated furniture
Lack of signage warning of damaged items
Staff acknowledging the item was faulty but not removing it

The absence of a proper system for checking, logging, or replacing damaged furniture is often vital.

Contributory Negligence

If the injured person contributed to the accident, the court may reduce the value of the claim under the principle of contributory negligence.

For example:

If someone sat on a chair clearly marked as broken
If they dragged or stacked furniture without being instructed to
If they behaved recklessly around a fixture or rail

In such cases, the court might find the venue mostly at fault but reduce compensation by a percentage—often 20–40%.

If these legal requirements are met, a collapse-related injury claim may proceed with a strong foundation.

What to Do After You’ve Been Injured by a Collapsing Chair or Fixture

When a chair collapses or a fixture gives way unexpectedly, the immediate priority is your health—but what you do next can also affect your ability to bring a claim later. Acting promptly helps secure the evidence needed to prove what happened and who may be responsible.

1. Get Medical Attention Right Away

Even if the injury seems minor, it’s important to get checked out:

Visit your GP, A&E, or a minor injuries clinic as soon as possible
Clearly explain what caused the injury—mention the collapsed chair or fixture
Ask for a written diagnosis or medical report if available
Retain any receipts or appointment summaries

Medical records serve as proof that the injury occurred and help establish timing and severity.

2. Photograph the Scene and the Item

Visual evidence is often the most persuasive in collapse-related cases. Take clear photos of:

The broken chair, bench, hook, or fixture from multiple angles
The floor area, surroundings, and any visible hazards
Any damage to clothing, bags, or other items
Your injuries (e.g. bruising, swelling, cuts)

If you’re unable to take photos at the time, ask someone else to do it for you, or return to the location as soon as possible.

3. Report the Incident Immediately

Tell staff, management, or whoever is responsible for the space:

Give a clear, factual description of what happened
Ask for an incident report to be completed
Note the name or position of the person you spoke to
Follow up in writing (email is ideal) and ask for written confirmation

If you’re in a self-service or unmanned space (e.g. public waiting area or church hall), contact the responsible organisation through their website or published contact information.

4. Preserve Any Relevant Evidence

Keep anything that may help support your claim:

Clothing torn or stained in the fall
Personal items damaged (bags, glasses, electronics)
Takeaway receipts, appointment letters, or booking confirmations
Correspondence with the venue or organiser

Store items in their original condition and avoid cleaning or repairing them before speaking to a solicitor.

5. Identify Any Witnesses

If others saw the collapse or helped you afterwards, try to get:

Their names and contact details (email or phone)
A brief note of what they saw
Confirmation of any conversations had with staff or security

Witness statements are especially valuable if the venue later denies what happened or removes the damaged item

6. Track the Ongoing Impact

Keep a personal log of how the injury affects your daily life:

Missed work, childcare issues, or changes to routine
Ongoing pain, discomfort, or medical follow-up
Photos of how the injury progresses (e.g. bruising, swelling, restricted movement)
Receipts for over-the-counter treatment or follow-up care

This record can help demonstrate the broader effect of the injury and support any claim for losses.

Time Limits for Making a Claim in Ireland

If you were injured due to a collapsing chair or fixture, there is a strict time limit for bringing a claim. Under Irish law, the general limitation period for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the accident.

This means legal proceedings must begin (by submitting the claim to the Injuries Resolution Board) within that two-year window. If this deadline passes, your case may be struck out, regardless of how strong the evidence is.

Exceptions

Children under 18: The two-year clock does not begin until the child turns 18. A parent or guardian can bring a claim on their behalf at any point before that.
Adults lacking capacity: If a person cannot manage their legal affairs due to a medical or cognitive condition, the clock is paused until capacity is regained (if ever).

Why Early Action Matters

Even though the legal time limit may seem generous, practical evidence can disappear quickly:

Prompt action improves your solicitor’s ability to locate witnesses, secure records, and access any photographic or video evidence.

If you’re unsure how much time you have left, or whether the clock has already started, it’s best to get advice sooner rather than later.

Contact a Solicitor with Experience in Premises Liability Claims

If you’ve been injured by a collapsing chair or fixture in a public venue, John O’Leary Solicitors LLP can help. We offer clear, practical legal advice rooted in over 20 years of local experience. Contact us today to find out what steps you should take before necessary evidence is lost.