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Accident on farm - where do I go?
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Isatou
Posts: 52 Forumite
In April I fell and broke my wrist and elbow - very bad breaks for which I now have 3 metal plates holding my arm together! The accident was on the farm where I am a partner and our landlords are the local county council. They commissioned a builder to erect these buildings 4 years ago and the building spec (drawn up by the CC), stated that the floor in the dairy should have had a carborundum grit added to the concrete (put on just before the concrete sets) - this is to prevent slipping -we only found this out after I had fallen. The builder says it was not on the spec..........I don't know where to go now, I want someone to admit they were at fault and an apology. I'm not sure about seeking compensation - I really don't want the hassle, but at the same time, the injuries have been very painful, I have been told by my consultant that I will never get back the full range of movements and of course I am unable to do very little about the farm. Comments please.
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In April I fell and broke my wrist and elbow - very bad breaks for which I now have 3 metal plates holding my arm together! The accident was on the farm where I am a partner and our landlords are the local county council. They commissioned a builder to erect these buildings 4 years ago and the building spec (drawn up by the CC), stated that the floor in the dairy should have had a carborundum grit added to the concrete (put on just before the concrete sets) - this is to prevent slipping -we only found this out after I had fallen. The builder says it was not on the spec..........I don't know where to go now, I want someone to admit they were at fault and an apology. I'm not sure about seeking compensation - I really don't want the hassle, but at the same time, the injuries have been very painful, I have been told by my consultant that I will never get back the full range of movements and of course I am unable to do very little about the farm. Comments please.
Demand compensation from who ever is in charge of the farm!!
(see the flaw in your plan?)"Love you Dave Brooker! x"
"i sent a letter headded sales of god act 1979"0 -
Yep agree with above, if you are a partner in this business and it is partly your business, then health and safety is your responsbility.
If this accident happened due to insufficient type flooring and you have employees working for you, do nothing about it and you will find yourself with a very large legal bill.0 -
I agree with the above two posters, from the little information you have provided. However, it may be worth contacting a local solicitor for some preliminary advice.
I do recall a case where a man fell (and sustained very serious injuries) from a badly-maintained roof at his home, and he sued his wife for failing to keep it safe. I think the matter went as far as the Court of Appeal, and he was successful. Personally, I think that's a little odd, but if that's the way the law works, it could be worth taking some advice on.0 -
The building owner will have Property Owners Liability however Councils tend to self insure eg pay their own claims and have an Insurer to cover very large claims eg over £50000.
To sue the council or builder you will have to prove negligence.
You may have some form of legal expense cover and advice with the NFU, give them a call0 -
Perhaps I have not explained well enough. My husband and I are the only 2 people working on the farm (in a partnerhip agreement). We do have to comply with health & safety policies if only to get paid for the milk we produce, and of course, we are not stupid - we are very aware of the risks on farms - but this is something that we really did not consider a risk - until it happened! My point is that the CC, in the spec for the building says that a special floor covering should have been laid in this area - the builder clearly did not carry this out. We only realised that perhaps the floor covering was inadequate when I had the fall and asked to see the spec. for it. Clearly someone was negligent - the builder for not carrying out the work as per the spec or the CC for not checking that the work had been carried out. I am well aware that if someone (ie vet/rep) had fallen and had an accident that they would be putting in a claim for injuries. As I said, I'm not in this for recompense fo my injuries - just want someone to admit they were at fault an an apology.0
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Like I said is you are a member of the NFU or have Insurance with them they will probably have some kind of Legal Advice or Legal Expense Cover0
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If the floor was laid 4 years ago then the work should ultimately have been checked by yourselves as you are responsible for H&S. Regardless of who missed what off the spec, you should have checked that the work was carried out as per the original spec and if not, challenged it at that point not 4 years later once an accident happened. An appropriate risk assessment should have been made once the work was completed.
I wouldn't think you would get your apology or acceptance of fault from the council or the builder because then that would give you grounds to claim compensation which I feel is what this is all about anyway.
As others have said, contact your business insurers for advice.0 -
Was the building work signed off against the initial spec, including the flooring spec?
If it was, then you should be talking to whoever signed it off as being complete. If it wasn't signed off, then as you are responsible for H&S, it would come down to you for not asking for the paperwork before the building was used.
Check through your paperwork carefully.Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
Going to be really difficult to prove negligence in this case. You will have to show that the council (or third party) was negligent in not checking that the specification had been complied with AND that this caused the injury. If the fall would have happened anyway, you have no claim.0
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