At the time of the accident, the Defendant was in the process of carrying out work in our client’s property. He left our client’s home to return to his van to collect some ladders, but when he rang the buzzer to be let back into the house, our client tripped over his toolbox, which he had left in the middle of her kitchen floor.  She sustained significant injury to her hip joint which required a total hip replacement.

When the claim was first brought to the Defendant he denied liability, arguing that our client must have fallen over something else as he had left the toolbox against the kitchen units and not the middle of the floor as was suggested. Unfortunately, there were no independent witnesses to support either version of events.

Liability was eventually settled on a 50/50 basis, taking into account the risk that either party’s version of events could be believed.

Medical evidence was obtained which confirmed that the total hip replacement had been carried out as a direct result of the injuries sustained in the accident.  The medical expert also confirmed that the amount of time our client could spend standing had been reduced and her ability to do many tasks including cooking and cleaning was limited.

As a result of the injury and hip replacement, our client now requires ongoing assistance from her husband to perform tasks such as putting on her shoes, socks and tights.  She is now also unable to get in and out of the bath unaided and adaptations in the form of a wet room were considered reasonable.

Irwin Mitchell’s expert solicitors were able to secure a settlement of £12,000 which will enable our client to make the necessary adaptations to her home to provide her with as much independence as possible going forward.

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