uncovered manhole accident

Sooler

fishingcinema wrote: »

WOW considering that the op never mentioned or even intended that they were thinking of compensation i think there has been some pretty harsh thoughtless replies given

yep, looks like some people can write well enough but can't read too well

foxy-roxy

All companies, councils, water works, construction etc, have a duty to provide public safety, if they haven't complied with that then they need a wake up call.
I think OP should pursue it, you should be able to walk down the street without falling down holes.
Hope your daughter is ok and dont be fobbed off by the companies.

mrcol1000

It could have been vandalised and no-one bothered to report it....
Just because someone has an accident it doesn't straight away mean that someone is to blame.

You should have reported it to your local council. If its not their land they can't find out whose land it is and get them to fix the fault. They can also repair the damage for the meanwhile until they find out who owns the land. Its very easy to scoff at something like this happening but adults fall down these even when they are clearly marked and fenced off let alone children falling down one that is hidden.

fwor

If it's not council-owned land, I don't believe they are obliged to tell you who owns it.

However, the UK Land Registry will provide a report detailing who the land is registered to for a fee of £4.

mrcol1000

fwor wrote: »

If it's not council-owned land, I don't believe they are obliged to tell you who owns it.

However, the UK Land Registry will provide a report detailing who the land is registered to for a fee of £4.

They are not obliged to tell you who owns it but they are obliged to make sure whoever does own the land fixes the manhole cover regardless of why its like that.

gem599

Most water/sewerage companies rely on the public reporting defective manholes as it is impossible to check them all. It is taken extremely seriously with someone sent out immediately. Just call the emergency number that you would call to report loss of water supply etc. If you can tell it was sewers then go straight to them, don't bother with the council.

Viper_7

Crikey!

If there had been no recent work carried out, and the cover is not faulty, then one doesn't have a valid claim. ANYONE could have moved it.
Can't just blame the folk who maintain the manhole and said cover.

I'd maybe start with the council or call the local water/sewage authorities to ascertain who maintains it, but unless you can prove negligence if you want to go down that road it won't go very far.

tandraig

how would you know there was no recent work carried out? this is where OP needs to find who is responsible - if it IS water/sewerage there is no point reporting it to council is there? plus - if it is water company then THEY NEED to know there has been an accident. If OP asks around in area they might find out how long its been like that, any previous accidents or if anyone says they reported it ages ago!
no, you cant just blame the people responsible for manhole - not until you are SURE they are at fault. and as I pointed out before the OP has not actually said which route they are going down. But if there has been one accident there may have been or will be others. the people responsible need to know to put things right.

AsknAnswer

Has it ever occured to anyone that the OP simply wants to find out who is responsible so that the hole can be adequately covered and comply with public health and safety? What if a blind person happens to walk along that same spot, fails to locate the hole with the aid of a stick or a guide dog, and slips in? It's dangerous plain and simple.

I haven't seen her mention a compensation claim. Probably because she didn't mention it, everyone else did which only serves to show the narrow mindedness of some.

In regard to the "you are responsible for your children" - Of course people are responsible for their children. What is expected exactly? A child cannot be strapped to their mother's hip for life, they need to learn independence which means letting go of mummy's hand once in a while to walk along side their siblings. Even if she had been holding mummy's hand, could this have been avoided? Probably not, unless the OP's eyes were fixed on the ground, which is hardly likely when out walking, particularly when she had several children to watch. I know I certainly don't look at the ground when I'm walking - That would be a safety issue -I look staright ahead to where I'm going.

Someone is also responsible for ensuring any man sized hole on public land is adequately covered. And the public have a moral responsibility to report on a defective manhole cover so the responsible person can put it right. The OP wants to find out who so that the problem can be rectified. Wishing to find out who is responsible and taking photos does not necesserily mean she wishes to make a compensation claim, and it is quite deflating to see those assumptions, along with assumptions of her abilities as a parent made on the basis of her post which indicates nothing of the sort.

I took photos of my daughter's injuries when a store was negligent in its Health and Safety, and sent them to head office with a covering letter as I got a whole load of bad attitude when I advised the store manager of the issue. I wasn't attempting to make any claim and made that clear in my letter - I would have seen any recompense as an insult, an incentive to "keep me quiet" and I made it plain that I would take great offence to any consolitary payment, and requested they did not send me vouchers either. I enclosed the photos merely to show the impact of the injury so they could see for themselves the severity of danger the issue presented and would take swift action. I also strongly suggested they retrain their manager in customer service and health and safety, as it was an obvious training need!

tanmu

thanks for the support! I have been told by the district council that they don't own the land and have been referred to the highways department. I am now waiting on a call back from them to see if they own the land or if they know who does. I will be pursuing this - not as a compensation claim, but because this was a distressing incident - when I think back over what happened, my pulse races again remembering the sight of my daughter disappearing through the ground and her hysteria. I will also pursue it because my daughter got off relatively lightly - someone else might not be so 'lucky', if you could call what happened 'lucky' that is....