Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Compensation Claims for Slips, Trips and Falls
If you or a member of your family is suffering from a personal injury caused by a slip, trip or fall, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.
Who Can Claim Compensation for a Trip or Fall?
Making an Injury Claim
Slips Trips and Falls in the Workplace
Compensation
Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers
Successful Claims for Slips Trips and Falls
Who Can Claim Compensation for a Trip or Fall
It is usually possible for a person suffering a personal injury as the result of an accident to make a claim, if they can prove that someone else was responsible.
Slips and trips can unfortunately occur in a wide range of locations and situations. For example:
- Accidents caused by defective public pavements
- Slipping accidents caused by spillages in supermarkets
- Accidents caused by obstructions or hazards in the workplace
- Tripping accidents at school or college
- Injuries due to other accidents on public and private property
- Accidents on board an aircraft or ship
If it is clear that the incident could have been prevented, then the injured party could be entitled to claim compensation. Employers, local authorities and business owners have a responsibility to maintain their property to a safe level. If they have failed to take necessary measures to do this, then you could have a strong case.
Making an Injury Claim
Where possible you should try to take photographs of the area where the accident occurred. In cases where the location of the incident is on a public pavement, it is important to show the dimensions of the defect. This is most simply done by placing a ruler or an object of standard size, such as a coin or a matchbox, in the photograph with the defect.
It is also helpful to record as much detail as possible, including the names and addresses of any witnesses, remembering to keep receipts of any expenses related to the injury. Most importantly, you should seek legal advice from a specialist lawyer. They can help you to formulate all the evidence and assist you in making your claim.
In every case, medical evidence will be required, and it is necessary to show that the person you are making a personal injury claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.
Slips, Trips and Falls in the Workplace
For slips and trips that occur at work, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 apply. This requires all employers to provide a safe working environment for employees, free from obstructions, defects or substances that could cause someone to slip, trip or fall.
If you were injured in an accident at work, try to ensure that the details are recorded in an accident book if one is available.
A compensation claim for a trip or fall in the workplace would usually be dealt with in the same way as any other employer liability claim.
Details of cases our lawyers have successfully handled for employees injured in slipping accidents at work can be found below:
- In 2002, working at a residential home, our client sustained a personal injury as the result of a slipping accident at work. She was on call at the home and entered a patient's room. Failing to notice the floor was wet, she slipped on urine and fell, landing in an unnatural and awkward position. As a result our client suffered lower back injuries.
She had to be helped to her feet by colleagues and, though initially she tried to continue working, had to be taken to hospital for x-rays and treatment for what was diagnosed as a torn ligament. Despite being officially signed off work by her GP, after 3 months her employers advised that failure to return to work would result in her dismissal. Not wishing to lose her job, she visited her doctor again, advising that she felt better and asked him to sign her fit for work. Unfortunately, she was only able to complete one shift and, unable to return to work for a further 12 months, her employment was then terminated.
Despite having treatment of various types, including a number of very painful epidurals and pain management treatments, she has never fully recovered from this accident at work. The injuries have not only affected her ability to work, and her future value in the market-place, but she also enjoyed, and now misses, the social element of her work and colleagues.
Unable to carry out basic household tasks, she is no longer able to enjoy her hobby of cooking, and is also unable to tend her allotment or garden.
Although liability was agreed as 50/50, her employers were reluctant to agree the scale of compensation. Only when we pursued the case to trial (only settling on the actual day) did they reach an agreement. Our solicitors, who specialise in personal injury compensation claims for accidents in the workplace, were able to secure total damages of £40,000 for our client, though the defendants also agreed to repay benefits of £25,000, giving a full liability figure of £105,000.
- Our client was injured when she suffered a fall in the course of her work. She was walking out to a car park from a building owned by her employer when she fell, due to a large stone on the uneven gravel surface that was concealed by overgrown weeds.
She suffered injuries to her hand and ankle which resolved within a few weeks, but the main injury was a torn rotator cuff in her shoulder, for which she required an operation. Our client had to take time off from work and needed a lot of assistance from family members during her recovery. She has a permanent scar from the operation and is likely to have long term problems with the shoulder, affecting her ability to do anything of a physical nature.
Our specialist personal injury lawyers dealt with a compensation claim in respect of this fall at work and secured £25,500 damages for our client.
- Whilst carrying a box down some steps in his workplace, Mr McMahon slipped on a laminated notice that had fallen from a door. He fell and damaged the ligaments in his ankle, for which he required hospital treatment and 8 weeks off from work. Our expert lawyers pursued the case and secured compensation on his behalf a few weeks before trial.
Mr McMahon sent a letter of thanks for the work carried out on his behalf and said: 'Please pass on my thanks to Ranjit for all his hard work on this case.'
Supermarket Employee Receives Compensation for Slip at Work
Back Injury at Work Caused by Pallet in Aisle
Compensation for Hospital Employee Injured in Slipping Accident at Work
Compensation for Wrist Injury in Fall at Work
Injury Claim for Employee who Slipped on Wet Floor at Work
Hospital Employee Suffers Trip at Work on Door Stop
Electrician Injured at Work Receives Compensation
Injury Claim for Man Who Slipped in Flooded Toilets at Work
Fall at Work Caused by Cup Left on Steps
Unsuitable Car Park Surface Causes Accident at Work
Fitter Suffers Spinal Injury in Fall From Height
Wet Floor on Stairs Causes Serious Fall at Work
Tripping Hazard in Workplace Results in Serious Knee Injury
Restaurant Employee Injured at Work by Leaking Fridge
Bank Employee Suffers Fractured Wrist in Avoidable Accident at Work
Man Suffers Serious Injuries in Avoidable Fall From Ladder
Compensation
If your claim is successful, and our Legal Line solicitors will be working hard to ensure that this will be the case, you will be entitled to two elements of a compensation award.
The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things after the accident that you used to be able to do before, eg, wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog, etc. The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.
The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred.
Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers
The Legal Line lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury and have successfully recovered damages for many victims of slipping and tripping accidents. Using their extensive experience, they can provide specialist guidance, assistance and accident claim advice to help reach the best possible outcome.
Successful Claims for Slips, Trips and Falls
See below examples of some of the many cases handled by our expert lawyers on behalf of the victims of injuries. Details of other cases can be found in our news and success stories sections:
- As the result of a fall in a public place, our client suffered a personal injury and was left with a facial scar. She was visiting a motorway service station when she tripped on a piece of wood being used as flooring to cover a hole.
She required hospital treatment, including stitches to a wound on her forehead, and it was several weeks before she was recovered. Our lawyers were able to recover £2,500 compensation on her behalf.
- At the time of her accident, our client had just paid for some groceries at a local supermarket and was moving away from the checkout area. She tripped on a discarded box that had been left lying flat on the floor at the end of the checkout and fell, sustaining injuries to her knee and fingers as a result.
Our lawyers acted on her behalf in a public liability claim for this supermarket accident, as they are specialists in recovering personal injury compensation for the victims of accidents in public places. They recovered damages of £5,750 from the supermarket in respect of her injuries and ongoing symptoms.
- In a recent case against a health club, our lawyers were able to recover over £16,000 compensation for a woman who suffered a personal injury due to a fall caused by a wet floor.
Our client entered the reception area of the health club via the main door and was walking across the ceramic floor. She slipped suddenly as the floor was wet and fell to the ground. There were no warning signs to alert customers that there was a hazard and the area was not cordoned off.
Because of this slipping accident, our client suffered injuries to her neck, leg, mouth and teeth and required medical and dental treatment. She appointed our lawyers to act on her behalf in a claim and, despite the defendant initially putting forward a lower offer, we were able to negotiate a suitable settlement of damages.
Damages Awarded for Slipping Accident in a Hospital
Personal Injury Claim for Woman Injured by Defective Seat in Theatre
Woman Injured Due To Slip on Food Spillage Receives Compensation
Restaurant Accident Victim Receives Injury Compensation
Woman Compensated for Fractured Wrist After Fall on Hazardous Bridge
Compensation for Woman Who Slipped on Ice at Public House
Pothole on Pavement Causes Personal Injury
Delivery Driver Receives Back Injury Compensation for Stair Fall
Uneven Paving Slab Causes Employee’s Injury at Work
Pedestrian Injured by Fall on Defective Pavement
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