Day 128 - 24 May 95 - Page 49
1 potential evidence, of what her injuries were and what the
2 settlement amount was.
3
4 MR. RAMPTON: Ms. Steel has asserted as a fact that
5 Miss Stibbards sued the Company. That is an allegation in
6 the Defence for which, so far as I am aware, there is
7 absolutely no support whatever.
8
9 MS. STEEL: I can tell Mr. Rampton we have not invented this
10 person; she does exist.
11
12 MR. RAMPTON: Then I ask, where is her witness statement?
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think the complaint which is actually being
15 made -- I will wait and see what happens, if anything, with
16 regard to Sarah Stibbard, but the point which is being made
17 is that at the moment there is an issue as to whether there
18 was any accident to her. If you say to a witness: "Are
19 you aware of an incident in the first half of 1989 where an
20 employee named Sarah Stibbards was injured?" the witness is
21 likely to think that because you have put it in this way,
22 there was such an incident and then answers the question on
23 that basis.
24
25 If you rephrase the question, "Do you know whether there
26 was any incident, perhaps in the first half of 1991, where
27 an employee named Sarah Stibbards was injured", then
28 Mr. Rampton would-----
29
30 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I did not object. That question was
31 asked and Mrs. Barnes said she did not know anything about
32 it. That is where it should have remained, unless there
33 was some foundation for the further question.
34
35 MS. STEEL: I am sure Mr. Rampton will apologise ----
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It does not matter now.
38
39 MS. STEEL: It might be helpful if we do look at it.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Unless you can put some further detail which
42 you say is the truth of the matter, Mrs. Barnes has said
43 she does not know of any such incident. That is the effect
44 of her answers.
45
46 MS. STEEL: If you look at pink volume XV and turn to section G,
47 document No. 2, there is a self-certificated absence form
48 for Sarah Stibbards, a crew member at Bexleyheath: "This is
49 to certify that I was unable to attend for work during the
50 period 21st May 1988 to 22nd July 1988, and the reason for
51 my absence was a broken arm." The following page in tab 3
52 on McDonald's headed notepaper it says: "This to clarify
53 that Sarah Stibbards is only designated to work counter and
54 dining area due to a previous accident which occurred in
55 the grill area".
56
57 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I follow that. What I am concerned about
58 -- I apologise if I had forgotten about that which plainly
59 I had -- I will have to go up on the screen but I am
60 confident that there was an assertion by Ms. Steel made as
