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As surprising as it may sound, bollards can be a common cause of accidents, and we have taken on several successful claims where accidents have been caused by them. The most common ones are caused by missing or broken bollards that pose a tripping hazard, but there may be a claim for a dangerously placed bollard.
Read on for more info.
The general law
There is always a duty on those in control of an area to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to prevent someone from being injured. In the vast majority of circumstances, reasonable steps can be achieved through suitable systems of inspection and maintenance. In addition, it can be about responding to a report that something is potentially dangerous.
A broken bollard leaving a hole in the ground or a stump that could be a tripping hazard is something that should be acted on. If the bollard is a council owned one, it could come down to when the area was last inspected, or whether action needs to be taken if someone has reported the problem. However, if it has been removed or partially removed on purpose, and the hole or stump isn’t made safe, we can allege that they are directly negligent for allowing it to become a hazard.
If it’s in a private place like a supermarket or shopping centre car park, you’d expect it to be picked up on quickly by staff. Again, the area needs to be made safe – there should be no dangerous holes or stumps that could cause a person to trip and / or fall.
When it comes to what is alleged as a dangerously positioned bollard, we need to look at the evidence on a case by case basis. We have had a case before where the bollard was on a cycle lane with no lighting in the area and no reflective decoration on the bollard; making it hard to see. We have seen cases where the colour of a bollard is a good match for the floor, making it hard to see. In these cases, it can be difficult to win a claim but if you show us some quality photos we can look to assess it for you.
It’s always worth doing the following:
- Taking some photos of the area to show whether there are grounds for a claim
- Getting medical attention for injuries
- Calling an Injury Lawyer like us for a free, no obligation, chat about whether there are merits for the case
Our free claims helpline number is 0800 634 75 75 – you have nothing to lose by giving us a call.
