Whilst they may only protrude just a few centimetres or less, tripping on a protruding screw, nut, or bolt can easily end up in an injury. So what happens if you are the victim of such an incident? Can you make a claim for personal injury compensation?
To help you, I will split this in to two sections – one for those who have tripped at work, and the other for those who have tripped in a general public area.
At work
There is a specific section in The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 that addresses the condition of floors and traffic routes. The most applicable part reads as follows:
(3) So far as is reasonably practicable, every floor in a workplace and the surface of every traffic route in a workplace shall be kept free from obstructions and from any article or substance which may cause a person to slip, trip or fall.
I’d say that’s pretty clear in showing that there is a clear duty on the employer to ensure that there are no protruding screws, nuts or bolts on the ground that could cause a person to trip. Whether they have adhered to this duty could come down to what knowledge they had of the problem, or whether they ought to have known about it.
If a screw, nut, or bolt has come loose over time and has risen, then whether you have a claim could be dependent on whether they knew about the problem, or perhaps whether it had happened before. If it was known, then you should have a good chance of winning a claim from your employers insurance.
Either way, it’s always worth instructing us to look in to it for you!
In a public place
The duty is similar to the above but comes under the Occupiers Liability Act which means those in control of a premises have to take all reasonable steps to ensure people are safe. Again, whether you have a claim or not probably come down to what reasonable steps have been taken or whether those in control of the premises ought to have known about the danger.
Inspection regimes and risk assessments are normally used to spot such hazards.
Can you claim?
It’s definitely worth asking for our advice about our Genuine No Win, No Fe agreement and 100% compensation offer. It can be hard to tell whether the law has been breached without actually initiating a claim and looking at what evidence the other side may have; but as its No Win, No Fee, there’s no risk to you if it doesn’t win!
