Woman wins £7,000 after breaking her ankle when high heel snapped

A student who broke her ankle when a high heel on her new shoes snapped has been awarded more than £7,000 compensation.

Sophie King, 20, was left in agony after the stiletto collapsed on the first night she wore them.

Her left foot hit the ground hard and, despite trying to continue with her evening out with friends, the injury meant she later needed an ambulance to take her to hospital.

She launched legal action against the shoe chain Dolcis, which last month admitted the high-heel shoes had been faulty.

Legal experts yesterday claimed the case could open the floodgates for hundreds of similar claims for compensation.

Miss King, from Knutsford, Cheshire, had bought the black shoes for £35 from the High Street store chain and was wearing them for the first time on a night out in Manchester.

She said: ‘As I was walking down the tram platform, the shoe snapped and I went over on it. It was really painful, but I didn’t want to ruin the night for everyone so we went on to the first bar.

‘I began to feel better after a couple of drinks. But then the next thing I knew I’d passed out and was in the back of an ambulance.’

Miss King, who is studying English literature at Durham University, was taken to hospital where X-rays confirmed she had broken her ankle.

She had to undergo surgery, having several screws inserted into her ankle, and then spent several weeks in plaster while the bones healed.

During her recovery she was was unable to play sports at college

and had to quit a waitressing job over the Christmas holidays.

At Manchester County Court, she was awarded £7,200 after the shoe firm admitted the high heels were faulty.

Miss King, who is working as an au pair in Spain during the sumdegreemer break from her studies, says the whole experience has put her off wearing heels.

‘I’m 5ft 9in and hardly ever wore them anyway, so it was really annoying,’ she said.

‘Now I just stick to really chunky heels if I’m wearing them at all.’

She said women frequently suffer injuries by going over on heels and often it was the badly-made shoes rather than the fault of the wearer.

‘I know so many people who have gone over in their heels,’ she added. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if more people came forward.’

Miss King was represented by Mike Hardacre, of Manchester law firm Pannone.

Split: Dolcis shoes, similar to the ones worn by Sophie King

He said: ‘sophie could prove that she had bought the shoes and this was the first time she had worn them.

She managed to get Dolcis to accept that there had been a fault with the manufacturing. In English law, she was well protected under the Sale of Goods Act.

‘This case highlights the fact that consumers are well protected where products purchased are defective.’

He said the case could encourage other women who have suffered similar injuries to take legal action.

‘If they have had the shoes for six months and it happens then it would be a lot more complicated,’ he added.

‘But if they have just bought the shoes and the shop accepts liability, they could and should take it up.’

Dolcis went into administration in January. The firm’s parent company, Alexon, declined to comment on the case.