Girl paralysed after diving into her friend’s swimming pool loses £6m damages claim after judge says owner 'didn’t need warning signs in his own home'

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:00 PM on 3rd August 2011


A girl who broke her neck diving into a residential swimming pool during a teenage party has lost her £6million compensation claim.  
Homeowner David Hawkins, who was on holiday at the time of the party, was exonerated of blame at the High Court after a judge ruled that he had no 'paternalistic' duty to Kylie Grimes who dived into his pool.
Miss Grimes' claim had centered on the lack of warning signs around the pool but Mrs Justice Thirwall said Mr Hawkins was under no obligation to put up warning signs in his own home.
Claim lost: Kylie Grimes was left wheelchair-bound after the swimming pool accident in August 2006
Claim lost: Kylie Grimes was left wheelchair-bound after the swimming pool accident in August 2006
On holiday: Mr Hawkins was not present at the party held by his teenage daughter
Helped: Katy Hawkins called the emergency services after the accident
Winners: Miss Grimes had tried to sue Mr Hawkins, left, following the party hosted by his daughter and her former friend Katy, right, in August 2006
There was nothing unusual about the pool; its contours could clearly be seen and those, like Miss Grimes, who took the risk of diving in were 'exercising their free will', said the judge.
Miss Grimes was an athletic, horse-mad 18-year-old when Mr Hawkins daughter, Katie, held a midnight party around the pool at her father's house in exclusive Temple Close, Farnham, Surrey, in August 2006.
The former full-time stable girl suffered terrible head and neck injuries when she dived into the pool and struck her skull on the bottom in the early hours of August 5.
 

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She was rushed by ambulance to Frimley Park Hospital where she received treatment but tragically has been left tetraplegic and confined to a wheelchair.
Miss Grimes sued David Hawkins, a director of a forklift truck business, claiming he should be held legally responsible for the tragedy even though he was away on holiday at the time.
Lawyers argued 'no diving' signs should have been put up around the pool.

Kylie Grimes (second from left) is suing her former friend's father after being left paralysed by diving into their swimming pool
Severed ties: Miss Grimes (second from left) launched the legal action against her former friend's father after a teenage party 'that got out of hand'

But, clearing him today, Mrs Justice Thirlwall said: 'He was not required to adopt a paternalistic approach to his visitors, all of whom were adults, all of whom were making choices about their behaviour, exercising their free will.
'I do not accept that it is incumbent on a householder with a private swimming pool to prohibit adults from diving into an ordinary pool whose dimensions and contours can clearly be seen.
'It may well be different where there is some hidden or unexpected hazard, but there was none here.'
Ruling that Mr Hawkins had not 'assumed responsibility' for Miss Grimes's safety, the judge said: 'She was an adult. She did something which carried an obvious risk.  
'She chose, voluntarily, to dive when, how and where she did, knowing the risks involved, as she acknowledged on the first day of the trial.
'I am quite satisfied that it would not be fair, just or reasonable to impose upon Mr Hawkins a duty of care to Kylie which required him to put his pool out of bounds at night, or to prohibit adults from diving into the pool.'
Kylie Grimes was left paralysed from the chest down after the accident
Kylie Grimes is paralysed from the chest down after a tragic accident
The court earlier heard how 19 school leavers - some of them drunk - congregated at Mr Hawkins' house when he was not there.
In the witness box, Miss Hawkins agreed that the party 'got out of hand' when more teenagers than she expected turned up.
She said she turned on the lights to protect swimmers and, although she accepted that she 'should have said something, looking back on it', she told the court: 'I knew that no-one was going to listen to me'.
Amidst a 'steamy atmosphere', with mist coming off the heated pool, Miss Grimes dived in from the side of the 30 foot by 15 foot pool and struck her head on the bottom. The court heard everyone panicked and it was Miss Hawkins and a friend who called the emergency services.
Earlier, the judge was told Miss Grimes' £6m damages claim was far in excess of Mr Hawkins' insurance cover and, had she won the case, he would have faced bankruptcy.
Today's ruling means wheelchair-dependent Miss Grimes will go without a penny.