Popcorn slip leads to broken hip and legal payout for mum

A Melbourne mum who slipped on popcorn and went “flying through the air” at Reading Cinemas in Epping has been awarded $410,000 for her troubles.

Sylvana Sbaglia, 54, from Mill Park, says her legal win was a relief.

A Melbourne mum who sued a cinema after slipping on popcorn on the floor has won a $410,000 payout.

Sylvana Sbaglia, 54, broke her hip when she fell over at Reading Cinemas in Epping, in Melbourne’s north, on Anzac Day 2017.

Mrs Sbaglia was lining up for movie tickets when she trod on the popcorn and lost her footing.

The mother of two ­described her fall as being like “flying through the air” and said she was in a lot of pain when she landed.

She required a full hip ­replacement and was in hospital for five days before having to undergo two weeks of ­rehabilitation treatment.

In the County Court, she successfully sued for negligence after arguing the cinema had failed to adequately clean up the popcorn and had failed to warn her of its presence.

Sylvana Sbaglia, 54, from Mill Park, won a legal fight against Reading Cinemas after she slipped on popcorn and broke her hip.

After three days of hearings, Judge Katherine Bourke sided with Mrs Sbaglia.

The court’s decision, ­released this week, showed Mrs Sbaglia was awarded $410,000. The sum included the cost of the hip replacement, compensation for loss of earnings and $230,000 for pain and suffering.

Mrs Sbaglia told the Herald Sun the legal victory brought a sense of closure more than two years on.

“It’s just a relief,” she said. “It’s been a long and stressful process. Because if you don’t win you’re up for a huge bill paying the other side’s costs, which are astronomical.”

In evidence, Mrs Sbaglia said she was walking towards the ticket counter when she slipped and landed awkwardly.

“There was just no traction at all … So it’s like you’re just flying through the air, virtually, you know, there was no grip at all,” she said. Lawyers acting for Reading Cinemas told the court cinema management had a duty to take reasonable care to ensure the premises were maintained in a clean and tidy state, but denied any breach of that duty of care.

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They argued that the fall “was caused by or contributed to by her negligence in failing to keep a proper lookout and failing to walk around any ­slippery substance”.

The court heard Mrs Sbaglia was temporarily unable to work, and her injuries continued to hamper her ability to undertake normal activities such as ­gardening, walking the dog and playing tennis.

Judge Bourke said: “In all the circumstances, I am satisfied the defendant breached its duty to the plaintiff to take such care as in all the circumstances was reasonable to ­ensure that (Mrs Sbaglia) would not be injured by reason of the condition of the floor at the premises.”

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