In a local newspaper recently, a woman from the West of London was compensated in a personal injury claim after she slipped on a wet floor and subsequently fell down stairs, injuring her ankle whilst on duty as a part-time receptionist. The building at which she was based was in the London borough of Richmond and her manager had taken on cleaning contract whereby every Friday afternoon, a cleaning service would get the building ready for Monday morning. On the date in question, a cleaner had mopped a hallway leading to a flight of stairs and failed to put out a hazard sign stating that the floor was wet. It's a classic story in personal injury to the point of cliché. But let's see what happened as a result of this simple act of negligence.
As the receptionist was in a hurry and slipped on the floor, tumbling down the stairs and sustaining a serious ankle injury which has left her permanently swollen in that part of her leg. She experienced chronic, ongoing pain and had to undergo a number of surgical procedures in order to try and put this complex joint back together correctly. However, after 12 months with little progress on behalf of the surgeons and with dramatically reduced mobility, she launched a claim using a specialist no win no fee accident and injury solicitor who secured her £27,500 in compensation. A significant percentage of the money was in recompense for the loss of earnings and loss of future earnings in addition to damages suffered. A clause in the settlement states that if no improvement is made after a set amount of time, the employer may have to compensate her further.
Employer Liability and Basic Safety Steps Which Must be Taken
The question of avoidability can sometimes be tricky in instances of personal injury and a legal term used for it 'causation'. What caused this injury? While some people who've taken a tumble at work and suffered perhaps less serious injuries as the claimant in this example, claiming compensation can sometimes be a difficult consideration. For example, it might be possible to argue that the injured claimant should have been taking more care in looking where she was going so as to avoid accidentally falling in the first place. However, in the eyes of the law, an employer has a responsibility to ensure that hazards signs were placed onto floors to ensure maximum visibility of the fact that a dangerous surface lay ahead. This reflects both the fact that people are busy and focused on lot of other things in the workplace and also factors in that, depending on the angle of light and type of surface, a wet floor can be tricky to spot even when paying attention. If you find yourself in a situation asked yourself whether your employer was living up to their responsibilities it's worth browsing the Employment Law Act (1996) (link below) for more details.
My Compensation Helps
The My Compensation team offer a free initial consultation if you've sustained injuries in circumstances similar to this. Our team is standing by to help you in the process of being compensated and we work with some of the best employment liability injury solicitors in the United Kingdom. Get in touch today to discover more.
Sources: – http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents
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