Accident in Company Car Park

girlinabox

Hi All,

I hope someone can help with this. My OH was entering his work's car park this morning on his motorbike as per usual and a light fitting fell from the ceiling and hit him on the head. The force didn't quite knock him to the ground however as any biker will know it isn't safe to use a helmet which has been knocked against a hard object. My OH filled in an accident book at HR - although he doesn't feel that he was really injured - he wanted to see if they would pay for a new helmet - and he was given the details of the owners of the building - which I think he said was Saville's? Anyway he called his IC, Swinton who said that as he was not involved in an accident as such (with another vehicle and no injury) they're not interested. He tried to point out that he wasn't making a claim, he basically wanted someone to contact this company to see if they will pay out but they refused.

So, where does he stand? Should I suggest that he insists that the building owners contact Swinton?

Through no fault of his own he now has to fork out a couple of hundred of pounds for a new helmet and no-one seems willing to help.

I hope someone here can point us in the right direction.

TIA :-)

mattymoo

Pursue a claim directly against the building owner.
Savills are a property management company so not the ultimate owners. Write to them though giving time, date, location and circumstances. They should pass matter on to the owners insurance company.

Building owners have "property owners liability" policies to cover this type of thing.

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

There would have to be some sort of failing in a duty of care. If the light fitting genuinely fell and was well maintained etc there isnt much he can do as the company havent breached any duty of care.

shelly

girlinabox wrote: »

The force didn't quite knock him to the ground however as any biker will know it isn't safe to use a helmet which has been knocked against a hard object.

That all depends on how hard the knock is and if there is any visible damage IMO.
I'm clumsy and used to drop my lid all time. You could say dropping it onto a concrete floor is the same as knocking it against a hard object but as it had no visible damage I continued wearing it.

Quote

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

If the light fitting genuinely fell...

What does this mean?

BillTrac

Just means that LinasPilibaitisisbatman is being his usual waste of skin self again. Ignore him, he is worse than a b****y troll

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

Quote wrote: »

What does this mean?

What it means is if the car park is well maintained, well inspected etc and it was just an accident that could not be avoided no breach of duty of care has occured and the company would not be liable.

CouponWoman

I think if the light fitting had been properly maintained it would not have fallen.

You should contact your insurers to see if they will assist. You might have legal expenses insurance on your policy which will allow you proper legal representation to get a replacement helmet.

Personally I think they are very lucky you are not pursuing a claim for personal injury.

I also believe the employer will be liable for the claim, as more than likely they will be responsible for repairs and maintenance of the site. They would need to provide documentary evidence that the light fitting was checked regularly for faults.

If this is disputed then your legal representative would need to check the lease.

If you do not have legal expenses cover on the motorbike policy check your home contents policy as some people do have it on that.

Good luck

Quote

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

What it means is if the car park is well maintained, well inspected etc and it was just an accident that could not be avoided no breach of duty of care has occured and the company would not be liable.

That isn't what I asked.

:money:

mattymoo

CouponWoman wrote: »

I also believe the employer will be liable for the claim, as more than likely they will be responsible for repairs and maintenance of the site. They would need to provide documentary evidence that the light fitting was checked regularly for faults.

Will depend on nature of their tenancy. If they are the sole tenant and on a full repairing lease then you would pursue a claim against the employer.

However, I gathered this was some kind of underground car park affair and these are often found in multi tenure offices. In that case the landlord and their agents will maintain this communal area and the claim would be against them as per my earlier post.

Crazy_Jamie

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

What it means is if the car park is well maintained, well inspected etc and it was just an accident that could not be avoided no breach of duty of care has occured and the company would not be liable.

Personally I'd be looking at res ipsa loquitur here. Or for those not well versed in legal latin terms, the facts are self evident as showing negligence in some form. Light fittings do not just fall in the ordinary course of things.