Generally speaking, someone or some company is responsible for a pipe (I would have thought!). If it’s manmade, it’s been fitted by someone and is someone’s responsibility! So a pipe shouldn’t be allowed to leak and cause a potential hazard. Rather obviously if the pipe is carrying water or any other liquid, a slipping hazard can result.
If it’s at work, workplace regulations apply. Your employer has an important duty to keep you safe at work , so traffic routes should not be hazardous. If water is allowed to accumulate due to a leaking pipe, and a slipping hazard is caused, this is a failure on your employer’s part to keep the traffic routes and your welfare safe at work. As soon as your employer is aware of the problem and the hazard, the problem needs to be rectified as soon as possible.
If it isn’t at work, then whoever is responsible for a premises or the pipe that is causing the hazard has the duty to rectify it immediately. If it’s in a shop or a public premises, the Occupiers Liability Act should apply which means that the person or company in charge of the premises has the duty to sort it out. The area beneath the pip can be cordoned off so there is at least no slipping hazard.
What if a pipe is leaking in to a public area outside and is causing a hazard? We have seen circumstances in the past where a pipe has been leaking on to a path from a property and has caused a slipping hazard from accumulated water or from the water freezing and forming ice. Here there is a duty on whoever is responsible for the premises or the pipe if it’s on public land to rectify the problem.
However, the duty can come down to whether the problem has been reported to them. How is a utilities company going to know that they have a dangerously leaky pipe unless someone reports it to them? Things like this should be inspected and maintained, but if the company isn’t aware of a problem, they may not always be liable. However, if it’s been reported, they should rectify the issues as soon as possible.
