A woman who slipped on the dancefloor at a wedding and tore her hamstring has won a £32,000 ($43,969) payout.
Gosia Anthony, from Plymouth, slipped in spilled drinks at the wedding reception at the White Horse in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, in September 2016.
The 49-year-old was dancing when she fell and was left in excruciating pain, Central London County Court heard.
She sued the pub operator Cellar Door Pubs Ltd - a company that was owned and run by members of the groom's family - and was awarded £31,871 in damages by Judge Richard Roberts.
He also ordered Cellar Door Pubs Ltd to cover Anthony's lawyers bills of about £50,000 ($68,702).
Council worker Anthony claimed she only had a couple of glasses of wine and had changed into flat shoes when she went on the dancefloor late in the evening.
She told the court: "The room was dark and there were disco lights.
"I was dancing. I put my left foot down and I slipped. I didn't have a chance to rebalance my body or break my fall, I just went straight down.
"I was in a lot of pain. I realised something was wrong. It was almost like I heard elastic breaking, even though it was a loud room. I felt something snap and immediate pain."
She was subsequently take home by other guests, and after going to see the doctor the following day, she found out that she had an 'avulsion injury to her left hamstring', meaning the hamstring tendons had been torn from the bone.
She returned to her native Poland for surgery, which involved securing her hamstring with three metal screws - a source of pain until this day when sitting down.
Anthony's barrister, Mark King, argued the fall was caused by negligence, as a water dispenser was placed in the function room without a drip tray underneath it.
He said: "The bride's husband's family own or operated the pub.
"This hazard has been created by the occupier itself. This is so obviously wrong in the way it's been set up. All one needs is a tray to slip underneath it."
Cellar Door Pubs Ltd denied liability, but neither the managers nor lawyers turned up for the trial.
Judge Roberts said: "I reject the defendant's contention that it would have been easy to see a spillage of water on the floor, bearing in mind that it was very dark.
"Having regard to the set up of the water dispenser and the absence of a water tray, I find that spillage or the presence on the floor was likely.
"I further find that the defendant knew or ought to have known of the likelihood of a dangerous slipping hazard arising, particularly as the floor was being used for dancing late at night, when the room was dark.
"In these circumstances I find that the claimant has proved that the defendant was in breach of the common duty of care... and was negligent at common law."
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