Lawyers from our personal injury team helped a woman claim compensation following an accident in the car park at her place at work.
Our client had parked up and got out of her vehicle when she fell on black ice, suffering pain in her left buttock and hip, with pain spreading across her lower back. She described striking her head although she was not knocked out. She self treated and went home from work and rested. However, the following day her symptoms were worse so she consulted her GP. She was provided with pain relief and a course of physiotherapy treatment.
Medical evidence was obtained in support of her injuries which confirmed that she had sustained a straining type injury to her lower back. An MRI scan which was taken 2 years after the accident showed degenerative changes in her spine which were not considered to be attributable to the accident as they had been present for a considerable period of time. The prognosis for the symptoms from the accident was limited to 6 months. Anything ongoing after that period was considered to be attributable to her pre-existing condition.
We helped our client to submit a claim for compensation and although primary liability was admitted, it was alleged that our client was 25% at fault on the grounds that she was an experienced employee with over twelve years of service and she should have been aware of her surroundings.
We advised our client to reject this allegation, which she did and we notified the defendant that her length of service had no bearing on the accident. They clearly took no steps whatsoever prior to her accident to prevent such an accident occurring and it took an accident of their employee to force them to address such a hazardous issue and then finally take steps to grit the car park. We advised them that we refuted any suggestion that our client was to blame and considered that we would establish full liability against them at trial. The defendant informed us that they would deal with the claim in full.
Following the disclosure of medical evidence the defendant settled the claim for £2,000 and paid our client’s legal costs.
If you've been injured due to a slip or trip, our personal injury claims team could help you secure compensation. See our Slip & Trip Compensation Claims page for more information.
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