David Birrel Set To Sue Donmar Warehouse

[Phantom of London]

An actor is suing a London theatre company after he was shot in the eye and blinded during an on-stage duel.

David Birrell lost the sight in his right eye and suffered permanent disfigurement when his replica gun backfired.

He wants ¯250,000 compensation from Donmar Warehouse Projects Ltd, claiming the ¯cosmetic disability¯ has blighted his career and personal life.

In documents lodged at the High Court, Mr Birrell¯s barrister Stephen Friday said the accident, during a production of the Stephen Sondheim play Passion at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in Covent Garden in October 2010, left the award-winning actor, 46, with a ¯blind, shrunken and unsightly¯ right eye, forcing him to wear ¯a cosmetic shell¯ to disguise its appearance.

Mr Friday added that Mr Birrell, from Nunhead, is ¯at a disadvantage on the labour market as a result of both his functional and cosmetic disability¯.

The theatre company has admitted liability, guaranteeing Mr Birrell will receive a payout, but denies negligence and is seeking a contribution to the damages from prop makers History in the Making Ltd, which it says supplied the gun.

Lawyers for History in the Making state that ¯the guns supplied had been competently serviced and cleaned prior to supply.¯


Evening Standard

[Phantom of London]

As for my opinion on this, I don't expect to go to work and suffer life changing injuries and I wouldn't expect one of the acting profession to do so, for my entertainment. This is a serious injury and is life changingand the loss of sight in one eye will no doubbt affect him in the future, however I think to claim ¯250k is outrageous and should be at least double that.

[Scripps2]

I thought £250k seemed low too.

[Mark_E]

It very low, but he is very likely to get it all, and
Rightly so.

[jamiekennywicked]

Is this David Birrel of the current Ragtime revival in Regents Park? While it means nothing in such a serious case, I didn't even notice a little disfigurement until I googled him just a minute ago.

[Phantom of London]

Think it is, it is not just the disfigurement, but the loss of sight in one eye.

I know accidents do happen and a lot of time they're avoidable and we do live in a age of a nanny state with Health and Safety culture, that may seem OTT to some, but this is where the nanny state is good.

The Donmar pay public liability insurance to cover themselves for such incidents, so they won't have to stump up a big some of money and that is what employers pay into to cover themselves from such incidents.

David Birrel deserves every penny, but the one winners will be the lawyers.

[jaqs]

I hadn't realised there was permanent damage. The amount he is asking seems very low.

[jaqs]

I hadn't realised there was permanent damage. The amount he is asking seems very low.

[The Scorpion]

Yikes, I didn't realise the damage was permanent either! I saw Passion just before the accident happened. Did he continue with the show after the accident?