Top furniture designer sues swanky Chiltern Firehouse

Top furniture designer sues swanky Chiltern Firehouse for over £200,000 after tripping over step in toilet and suffering severe facial injuries as he denies bottle of wine he shared over a meal was to blame

• David Salmon, 61, a furniture designer, fell on a step and suffered injuries in 2018
• Injuries include broken nose and teeth and fractured bone spurs in his neck
• Mr Salmon is suing Chiltern Firehouse Ltd for the fall for over £200,000
• Company accept ‘primary liability’ but say Mr Salmon partly responsible for fall

A top furniture designer who tripped over a step in swanky Chiltern Firehouse and suffered severe facial injuries has sued the restaurant for over £200,000. 

David Salmon, 61, from Nacton, in Suffolk, broke his nose and teeth, fractured bone spurs in his neck and was left with injuries to the knee, upper body and both shoulders after the accident in 2018.

Mr Salmon, who now lives in Monaco, and has made furniture for clients including most of the world’s royal households, has also said that the fall caused PTSD and a ‘microscopic brain injury underpinning post-concussional type syndrome’. 

Although Chiltern Street Hotel Ltd has accepted ‘primary liability’ for the accident, according to court documents it claims that Mr Salmon was partly responsible for his fall because he had been drinking at the time. 

But Mr Salmon has blamed the restaurant for the accident and claimed that they failed to put up a ‘mind the step’ warning sign in the men’s toilet. 

The 61-year-old has also alleged that because the colour of the step tiles was the same as the lower floor, there was nothing to indicate a change in level which appeared ‘two paces’ inside the lavatory. 

Mr Salmon is suing the restaurant for more than £200,000 damages, claiming negligence in failing to warn of the hazard, failing to install a handrail, and failing to ‘clearly demark the edge of the step.’

 David Salmon, 61, from Nacton, in Suffolk, pictured, broke his nose and teeth, fractured bone spurs in his neck and was left with injuries to the knee, upper body and both shoulders after the accident in 2018

In court documents, Mr Salmon’s barrister David Powell said: ‘Whilst it is accepted that Mr Salmon shared a bottle of wine with an associate whilst at the premises, it is averred that he did so with a meal and over a relatively lengthy period of time. 

‘He is, in his own words, ‘a big guy’, he was used to drinking such an amount of wine with a meal.’

‘In the circumstances, he was certainly not inebriated. In fact, the wine he had consumed did not impair his ability to see and/or appreciate the step in the circumstances set out above and thus did not contribute to the accident.

‘Further or alternatively, as the premises was a restaurant serving alcohol, the defendant should have anticipated that certain of its visitors would have consumed some alcohol and may be impaired thereby. ‘

‘In those circumstances, the step and/or floor created an even greater danger or trap and/or an even more foreseeable risk of harm than in a premises in which alcohol was not sold.’ 

Mr Salmon, who now lives in Monaco, has also said that the fall caused PTSD and a ‘microscopic brain injury underpinning post-concussional type syndrome’. He has blamed the restaurant for failing to put up a ‘mind the step’ warning sign in the men’s toilet. Pictured: The interior of the restaurant 

Mr Salmon is an acclaimed furniture designer and manufacturer who first cut his teeth in the field of antiques restoration and working with English Heritage and the National Trust before carving out a thriving furniture business.

According to his company’s website, ‘David continues to produce bespoke designs for prestigious architects and interior designers worldwide, for private clients and most of the world’s royal households’.

Mr Salmon’s case against Chiltern Firehouse Ltd was filed at the High Court earlier this summer, but has not yet appeared before a judge.

Chiltern Firehouse Ltd has said that they consider Mr Salmon’s alcohol consumption during his lunch was a ‘contributing factor’ to the accident. Pictured: Chiltern Firehouse in London’s West End 

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