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Ramps, especially for the less able, are useful for access when steps are too much to negotiate. I like a good ramp as I have a leg condition that can limit my movements sometimes, and we all expect a ramp to be secure to ensure that we can safely use it.

But what if it isn’t secure? What if it moves when you step on it causing you to fall and inure yourself? Or what if it isn’t stable and wobbles and causes you to fall? What if it just breaks? If this happens to you, you may have a claim for personal injury compensation.

Your Rights

If the ramp wobbles or moves causing you to fall, and this is a ramp at a public place like to a shop for example, you may have a claim against whoever is in charge of the ramp. Under the Occupiers Liability Act they are duty bound to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to make sure you are not injured on their premises.
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You’re walking around a supermarket or a shop when suddenly you are hit by shelving units that have fallen off the wall. The weight of the shelves, particularly if they are full of heavy items, can easily knock you to the ground and cause some fairly serious damage. So if this happens so you, what are your rights for making a claim for personal injury compensation?

Firstly, given the circumstances, we’d more than likely be able to investigate this for you on a No Win, No Fee basis and a 100% compensation basis as well. Shelving units should not just fall off walls, and we would argue that the Defendant has failed to take all reasonable steps to look after your health and wellbeing whilst visiting their premises. That’s their duty under the Occupiers Liability Act.
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Tripping on a raised edge can be an easy thing to do. We don’t often stare at our feet when walking around; if we did, we’d be prone to walk in to anything in front of us.

So can you make a claim for personal injury compensation for tripping on a dangerously raised edge? To make this easier, I’ll split this article in to two parts: raised edges on public land which would be against the council or highways authority, and raised edges on private ground where you have access to, like a supermarket.
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Missing grate covers can result in a lot of accidents and consequently a lot of injuries. Fortunately, in most cases you will be entitled to bring a claim for compensation for the injury you have suffered and any consequential losses arising from this. For example – if you suffer an injury such as a broken leg, you may not be able to work for a couple of months and therefore suffer a loss of earnings; this is something we would always strive to claim back for you.

Claims arising from missing grate covers may appear straightforward on the surface but unfortunately this isn’t particularly true, as they can be quite difficult.  There are two areas where these accidents commonly occur; on somebody’s property or property within the jurisdiction of the local highways authority.
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For the purpose of this blog, we’ll look at the following common sets of circumstances: Open holes in the pavement / highway, open holes in the workplace and open holes on a construction site.

Highway Act Claims

These are the most common when it comes to missing manhole covers. But other common circumstances are workman opening up the ground and failing to secure the area properly. If proper guards and cordons / railings are not erected, it’s no surprise that people can end up falling down an open hole and seriously injuring themselves.
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People tend to be in such a rush nowadays that accidents and injuries are fairly common. When it comes to accidents in supermarkets, we take on a lot of claims for personal injury compensation. A fair few of these involve claims when a person is hit by a shopping trolley.

It can do a serious amount of damage; particularly if your leg or ankle is hit. We have seen fractures and serious ligament damage from being hit by a trolley. An impact with a trolley can also lead to a fall to the ground which can of course cause serious injuries as well.
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When it comes to accidents in a gym, we may be able to help you if something has gone wrong and you are injured through the fault of the people responsible for the gym. So I’m not talking about taking too much weight and injuring yourself, or falling over when using the treadmill. I’m talking about gym equipment breaking and causing an injury.

One example: let’s say you’re using a weight machine and something snaps causing you to take more weight than you can handle. Or perhaps a weight falls off and the sudden shift in weight causes an injury. In these kinds of scenarios, you may have a claim for personal injury compensation. Suddenly taking more weight or suddenly losing weight you were holding can cause a whole host of muscular and ligament injuries.
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There are lots of rules and regulations that employers must abide by in order to keep you safe from harm. When it comes to cuts / lacerations, your employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure that you do not end up cutting yourself open on anything sharp or dangerous.

When it comes to work equipment, we could be looking at a few common scenarios:

• Cuts from work equipment – like blades or internal parts of a machine
• Cuts from a cutting tool like a saw or angle grinder
• Cuts from externally exposed sharp edges on machinery or equipment

When it comes to working with internal parts of a machine where there could be sharp blades, sharp cogs, or other bits and pieces that would easily slice through skin, your employer should firstly warn of such hazards and secondly ensure that appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is provided when doing the task. In this kind of situation, you should have protective gloves that cover all areas of your hands, wrists, and arms that may be exposed.
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Having ruptured practically all the ligaments in one of my knee a couple of years back, I’m well aware of the painstakingly lengthy process involved in recovering for a ruptured ligament injury. The Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) is the accompaniment of the more famous Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) which is injured commonly during sporting activities like football. You may remember the famous case of Michael Owen damaging his ACL back in 2006.

My understanding is that it’s a little harder to rupture the PCL with all the other ligaments surviving. Normally the PCL is the survivor. When I did mine, I ruptured all of them except for the ACL which instead snapped off the bone (which is easier to reattach) and the PCL which was severely stretched and bruised. The rest were completely destroyed and required replacement.
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There are loads of rules and regulations that employers must abide by to keep you safe from injury at work. When it comes to ladders, there are typically two areas that play the primary part in establishing that your employer has been negligent. These are:

• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
• The Work at Height Regulations 2005

Under The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 4 is key. This reads as follows:
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