Ireland native sues Mo’s Irish Pub after fall, alleges negligence (UPDATE)

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An Irish couple filed suit against Mo’s Irish Pub on Wednesday, alleging negligence on the part of the downtown Milwaukee franchise.

According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Thomas Ogorchock of Miller & Ogorchock SC in Milwaukee, Roseanne Carroll broke her wrist when her chair slipped off an elevated area about one foot off the ground where her, her husband, Ray Carroll, and other family and friends were seated at the restaurant on Aug. 17, 2008.

The couple, residents of Tullamore, County Offaly, in Ireland, are claiming negligence on the part of Mo’s, alledging employees placed Roseanne Carroll in danger by seating her near the edge of the elevated area, according to the complaint.

According to court documents, the couple is seeking damages for injuries, loss of society and companionship and other costs.

Ogorchock said Roseanne Carroll, in her 60s, was visiting family in Milwaukee in August 2008 and to attend Irish Fest on Milwaukee’s lakefront.

“They came in for the festival and to see family,” Ogorchock said, “and they wanted to eat at an Irish restaurant in town.”

On Aug. 17, the couple attended Mo’s with a large group that was seated on an elevated area of the restaurant.

According to court documents, Roseanne Carroll’s chair she was sitting in fell backward over the edge of an unmarked step in the restaurant.

“They placed the table so here chair was back against a step down off the stage,” Ogorchock said. “She moved her chair slightly and fell off the stage.”

Representatives for Mo’s Restaurants, which operates Mo’s Irish Pub, could not immediately be reached for comment.

In the complaint, Ogorchock argues that the design of the dining room that included a step-down immediately behind an area where patrons are seated constitutes a structural defect in the public building, causing an unsafe and hazardous condition.

He said employees should have known not to place the chair so close to the edge.

“Especially with an elderly woman,” Ogorchock said.