Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there – going to sit down at a family event or a public function only to completely miss the target, landing in what can only be described as an embarrassed lump on the floor. However, what is more embarrassing is being the victim in this situation when you were not to blame at all.
It is not uncommon when a situation such as this occurs for people to be too embarrassed to even contemplate what legal action may be open to them in seeking a claim for compensation.
It is therefore our responsibility to advise you of your rights, away from the hoards of laughter from your supposed loved ones and colleagues at falling to the ground, and advise you in situations where you may have a very good claim for compensation for any injuries you have suffered from.
Claims in relation to broken chairs can come under a variety of personal injury legal claims; however, the main two which are most common are seeking claims under the scope of product liability and occupiers liability.
Claims which are brought under product liability involve circumstances where a chair or set of chairs are bought from a supplier under the presumption that they have been tested and in safe and efficient working order, only to find that there is a problem or defect that poses a serious danger to you. It is important to realise that chair designers, manufacturers and suppliers are all under a legal obligation to test all their products before shipment, and to provide for their consumers products which are reliable and free from defect and ensure that they are not vulnerable to unforced breakage. With this in mind then, if you have bought a set of chairs from a store and you end up injured due to them being defective, e.g. the chair collapsed beneath you as you sat on it, you are well within your rights to bring a claim against the seller of the product or the manufacturer.
An important piece of advice for you – you can make the claim against the provider of the product – i.e. the shop where you bought it from. You do not have to trace the manufacturer yourself as the seller can be liable by default.
As mentioned previously, another particularly common area involving broken chair claims falls under the occupier’s liability act. Under these types of claims, companies that open their premises to the public, such as bars, restaurants, banks and supermarkets, are under a legal obligation to ensure that all visitors within their establishment are not injured.
With this in mind then, it is there legal responsibility to ensure that all objects within their establishment, including chairs, irregularly inspected and maintained to prevent an accident occurring. If you sit on a char in a restaurant and it collapses beneath you, you may well have a very good chance of winning a claim for compensation.
If you have ever been unfortunate enough to suffer an injury of this nature within such a public establishment as mentioned above, or from a dodgy product you have bought, get in touch with The Injury Lawyers to find out if you have a strong claim for compensation.
