A woman who was hit on the head by a football at a Rod Stewart concert in Dublin in 2005 has won compensation for whiplash injuries.

Sally Price has been a fan of the 64-year-old singer’s music for many years. Mr Stewart, who is a keen Celtic FC supporter, has a tradition of kicking autographed footballs into the audience.

Unfortunately, at the Dublin venue one of the balls Mr Stewart kicked went sailing up into the air, hit the rigging, and shot straight down onto Mrs Price’s head. She was knocked over and felt dazed for some time afterwards.

Mr Stewart visited Mrs Price in hospital and gave her four autographed footballs by way of an apology for the incident.

However, Mrs Price continued to suffer from whiplash-like symptoms and has never fully recovered. Consequently, she brought a personal injury claim against the concert promoters. The court found that it was foreseeable that Mr Stewart’s actions would cause an injury and Mrs Price had suffered a concussion as a result of the accident. She was awarded €15,000 in compensation.

Members of the public who attend entertainment events such as this have a right to expect that they are run in such a way as to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that they are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.