Marketing boss loses £18k bid for clowning about

A marketing director has lost his claim of nearly £20,000 for personal injuries he suffered after following orders to clown about during a corporate team-building exercise., Sean Gogarty, brand guru at food giant Unilever, collapsed in agony during a company-arranged entertainment session causing him cartilage and ligament damage, which needed reconstructive surgery., Mr Gogarty, 40, told Stafford County Court he made the elaborate stunt after being told by self-employed tutor, Chris Michael, to put “more energy” into his attempt. , As a result, Mr Gogarty sued Mr Michael’s company, Circus Space for alleged negligence, claiming that no proper risk assessment had been carried out and citing his instructor’s active encouragement., But according to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Gareth Evans OQ presiding, rejected Mr Gogarty’s claim for £18,750 and found that his instructor did not act negligently., The judge commented on Circus Space: “They were perfectly entitled to assume that a man of 35 and highly intelligent did not have to be told more than once how to do it and did not have to be told that if you land with the feet at 90 degrees you are inevitably going to fall over.”, Mr Gogarty explained that as the leader of exercise, he felt compelled to complete the task properly, when Mr Martin encouraged a more pro-active attempt., “He asked to me to take a run up, jump in the air while still running, then land in a particular stance which he demonstrated, the landing to be accompanied by a shout of ‘Yippeee.’”, After an initial attempt, a disappointed Mr Michael gave his request for ‘greater energy,’ prompting Mr Gogarty to launch himself once more., Upon full impact, the marketing boss recalled how his leg simply ‘gave way.’, Chris Michael however, remained reluctant to accept any post-facto explanations. “It is an exercise which is about performance energy, not about being crazy or pulling faces,” he said. It’s to make people doing it look energetic and very charismatic.”