A charity worker who claims she was injured at a Christmas party when she was picked up and dropped by a drunk Cambridge scientist is suing for £300,000 in compensation.
Sandra Shelbourne, 61, says she was left with painful back injuries when she was manhandled by “inebriated” Robert Bielik on the dancefloor of the event thrown by Cancer Research UK.
The High Court heard he had drunk vodka, red wine and beer at the party in 2012, and picked up three women before turning his attention to Mrs Shelbourne, grabbing her “without her consent”. She says she is unable to go back to work as an animal technician and is suing the charity for damages.
Mrs Shelbourne claims Mr Bielik, an expert in brain scanning, was an “accident waiting to happen” and the party organisers should have stopped him.
Cancer Research is fighting the claim and denies its staff were to blame. It says a victory for Mrs Shelbourne would lead to Christmas parties being cancelled in “health and safety gone mad”. The incident happened at the charity’s Cambridge research institute in December 2012, where staff and guests enjoyed food and a disco.
Mrs Shelbourne lost an initial damages claim last May at Southend county court when a judge ruled the charity could not have foreseen the accident.
But Robert Weir QC, for Mrs Shelbourne, told the High Court: “A drunk man at a party, lifting up women without their consent, is an accident waiting to happen.” Matthew White, for Cancer Research, said a compensation payout could make companies drop Christmas festivities and reasonable people might view that as “health and safety gone mad”. Mr Justice Lane will give his judgment on the case later.
