tripping over dodgy pavement - possible broken wrist

pebbles88

I always have some sort of bruise on me from my well honed skills of clumsiness, seriously, if it was an Olympic event, I'd win gold, silver & bronze every year!:o

Most of my bumps are from simple trips pretty much like op has done, one time I fell so hard from a trip I damaged all the ligaments & tendons in both wrists as I landed on them trying to break my fall.... Not once have I ever considered claiming from the council, it ain't their fault I haven't picked my feet up properly!

sock-knitter

my local hospital x-rays bones whatever day it is. i broke my wrist 8 weeks ago, cast comes off today:T and the metal wires holding the bones together:T

OP why are you thinking of sueing, surely an accident is an accident?

southoftheriver

You can't always see fractures at the time of injury, giving it a few days can reveal injuries not apparent at the time.

Wickedkitten

You would certainly know by the levels of pain involved two days later though, and I doubt you would be chirpy enough to go on MSE and type up a thread about it.

j.e.j.

I don't agree with this 'sue because the wind's blowing in the wrong direction' culture, either, but I have often seen dodgy-looking, uneven pavements and wondered how long it'll be before someone trips and falls.

Unfortunately it may be that the only way to get councils to fix the problem is fear of the cost of being sued by people for injuries incurred..

Gloomendoom

A friend of a friend of mine who works for the local council told me that this type of claim is on the rise. She recently had to deal with a council tenant who wanted compensation for a dripping tap that the council had taken six weeks to fix. Apparently, it had been "doing her head in". When asked how much compensation she thought reasonable for suffering the inconvenience of a dripping tap, the tenant replied "Oh, I dunno, about £20,000 I s'pose".

I'm just glad only a tiny minority of these claims prove to be genuine, otherwise my council tax would go through the roof.

swingaloo

Within 50 yards of my home I can find dozens of places or things I could trip over. If I walk to work there are hundreds!!!

However, if I ever trip over one it will be because I wasnt looking where I was going.

Everyone is strugling paying Council Tax as it is without poelple wanting money out of the pot for being careless.

Makes my blood boil.:mad:

looby75

j.e.j. wrote: »

I don't agree with this 'sue because the wind's blowing in the wrong direction' culture, either, but I have often seen dodgy-looking, uneven pavements and wondered how long it'll be before someone trips and falls.

Unfortunately it may be that the only way to get councils to fix the problem is fear of the cost of being sued by people for injuries incurred..

A few years ago we had a lot of new houses built around our street, the builders left the footpaths in a shocking state, holes everywhere, the council came and filled the holes up but not properly and within 6 months the holes were back, the worst one was by a lamppost and was 3 inches deep on one side and when it was dark it was hard to see as the lamppost wasn't working. I fell down it once but luckily nothing but my pride was hurt. I phoned the council and reported the hole and the fact the lamppost wasn't working, but nothing was done about either. I know that I wasn't the only person who reported it.

A few months later a teenage lad fell over the same hole and broke BOTH wrists His parents sued the council and their son received a considerable amount of compensation. I don't blame them one bit, the council knew about the hole, if they had repaired it properly in the first place, or come back to sort it out, or even got the lamppost working so you could see the hole in the dark that poor lad wouldn't have two broken wrists and the indignity of not being able to do anything for him self for months.

So until I hear more details of how the OP fell I wouldn't judge.

Lotus-eater

looby75 wrote: »

A few months later a teenage lad fell over the same hole and broke BOTH wrists His parents sued the council and their son received a considerable amount of compensation. I don't blame them one bit, the council knew about the hole, if they had repaired it properly in the first place, or come back to sort it out, or even got the lamppost working so you could see the hole in the dark that poor lad wouldn't have two broken wrists and the indignity of not being able to do anything to himself for months.

Oh dear, a teenage boy without either of his wrists :rotfl: I just can't think of anything worse.
At least it will wean him off internet !!!!!!.

geri1965_2

looby75 wrote: »

So until I hear more details of how the OP fell I wouldn't judge.

Quite right.

I used to deal with claims on behalf of local authorities, and 99% of the workload was claims involving pavement trips. They are easily defendable if the council can show that they have in place a documented system of inspection and maintenance.

I have worked in personal injury claims for 14 years and seen plenty of frivolous claims in my time, however, I am of the view that if someone is genuinely injured as a result of someone else's negligence, they should be compensated for it.