Slip/Trip (Public Liability)

This is technically known as Public Liability. Perhaps you tripped on a council pavement or fell in a hole in the road. Steps or ramps or floors in public places are often the causes of personal injury.

Here are some examples of cases as a result of such accidents.

Example: Dangerous Manhole Cover

Mrs A was walking her dog in town when she reached a junction. She crossed the road then stepped onto the pavement on the other side. Suddenly and without warning, she fell to the ground, landing hard on her knees than falling face first onto the pavement, breaking her glasses and banging her chin on the concrete, causing two teeth to be knocked out. She also bruised her hip. When she was able to sit up with the aid of a passer by, she realised she had tripped over a raised manhole cover that stood about two inches above the pavement surface. Several days later when she felt less shaken, and after visiting her doctor’s surgery, she contacted the council to complain. The council noted the details and a week later wrote to her, advising it was not their manhole cover. They owned the pavement but the water company owned the manhole cover.

Not sure what to do, a solicitor was appointed and he advised her to get photographs of the cover. She was not well enough so she sent her son down to the accident location and he took several photographs and made a sketch with some measurements of the height, width, etc. This was just as well because the council advised the water company who very promptly send a team around to repair the manhole cover and surrounding area of ground. Armed with the evidence and the medical data, a claim was successfully submitted by the solicitor on the client’s behalf.

Example: Public Liability Within a DIY Store

Mr B was in a well known DIY store and was putting items into a shopping trolley. He spotted some ceramic floor tiles on sale that were stacked on a wooden pallet and decided to purchase some. He picked up the first box on top and discovered that the boxes underneath had been stacked badly and that the wooded pallet had a split in it. The next four boxes slid sideways and the top box slipped off the pile and straight onto Mr B’s foot, breaking his big toe and splitting the toe nail causing heavy bleeding. He fainted in pain and was attended to by the store first aider. The incident was fully recorded in the store and full liability for the accident was accepted. A claim was successfully made as Mr B was still walking with a limp, even after 4 months.

Example: Didn't See The Signs

In a freak accident, Mr C was walking along the High Street in very windy conditions one afternoon when he was struck hard in the back by an object. He fell to the ground after bouncing off the wall of the shop he was walking past, and suffered multiple injuries. He was taken to hospital and kept in for a night then discharged with a course of medication and physiotherapy treatment. He had no idea how the accident happened but someone else reported that they saw a For Sale sign fall off the third floor of a building, then, with the wind behind it, it flew and hit Mr C. The owners of the building were later established but it turned out the estate agents had employed sign erectors who had only secured the sign with two screws instead of four. They were held responsible for failing to install the sign correctly. A claim was successfully made against the company.

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