I can’t tell how many times I have worked on a personal injury claim that involves tripping as a result of a protrusion in the street; whether it is a raised paving slab, loose drain cover, or bit of metal struck it the concrete. These accidents are every common and can cause significant injury to someone walking along without any knowledge of them.
Tripping accidents are seen mainly as a comical stereotypical claim taken on without a good reason – but it is important to understand that these kinds of accidents can often cause a great deal of pain and suffering to the person involved. Landing hard on a concrete floor can cause broken bones and serious damage to your body. This can involve you having to take time off work and incurring a loss of earnings or missing out on holidays booked, amongst many other inconveniences.
So it’s certainly something that shouldn’t be taken so lightly.
The main question to ask is – who is at fault? Well most people’s automatic assumption is the council, but this is not always the case. The land could be owned by the shop it is in front of, or it could be a private organisation that is responsible for maintaining the land it on behalf of the council, or it could be a utilities company if the area involves a man hole or a grate of some kind. It’s important that your personal injury claim is against the correct defendant and it can sometimes take a lot of redirection and investigation before the person or company responsible for the area in question is confirmed.
When we know who is at fault, it can be difficult to determine whether you have a good case or not at the early stages of the claim. In most cases it all comes down to whether or not they person or company responsible for the maintenance of the area have done all they can within the context of the law to prevent accidents occurring. In other words, making regular inspections and having maintenance regimes in place to prevent any protrusions in the area of jurisdiction to ensure no tripping hazards become apparent.
Have you had an accident that involves tripping over a protrusion in the street? Would you like some free, no obligation advice on what to do next? Why not give us a call on our free claim line where one of your team would be happy to happy?
Call us on our free claims helpline today: 0800 634 75 75
