Fell down stairs at work

p1nklady

Hi, I've signed up for some advice on what has happened today at my work place.

I work in a fresh food produce company and today I slipped down small and steep stairs in the factory.

I was carrying a small work ruck sake which i was delivering to another place in the building, the ruck sake is old and has 4 long loose straps which I must of stood on and tripped. It was also raining outside so my shoes were slippery.

Also to add at the bottom of the stairs were a big pile of pallets which were very closely staked near the stairs as this where i banged my head against.

I had a big bump on my head and few cuts and scraps across my legs and arms, even though I felt fine after 10 minutes, my work place called an ambulance just to get me checked out. I went to A&E because of the head injury.

Just want to know what will happen now.. should I take this further? Should I attend work tomorrow?

Thanks

mynameistallulah

Are you fit to attend work tomorrow, surely you would be able to answer that better than anyone here? What would you want to "take further"?

p1nklady

mynameistallulah wrote: »

Are you fit to attend work tomorrow, surely you would be able to answer that better than anyone here?

I'm fine at the moment but once the shock has gone tomorrow morning i'm sure I will be in a bit of pain.

mynameistallulah wrote: »

What would you want to "take further"?

The fact that there was a stack of pallets at the bottom of the stairs where I hit my head

elsien

Why not see how you feel in the morning.
Then make sure the accident book is filled in and speak to a manager to get the pallets moved if they're a real health and safety issue. Plus any other concerns that may have risen out of the accident - like wearing shoes with a better grip?

joannaspanner

I can see where this is heading...

dickydonkin

p1nklady wrote: »

I'm fine at the moment but once the shock has gone tomorrow morning i'm sure I will be in a bit of pain.



The fact that there was a stack of pallets at the bottom of the stairs where I hit my head

The fact that there were pallets at the bottom of the stairs is irrelevant in respect of the causation of your accident.

You either slipped (which you stated in your post) because your shoes were wet - or you tripped on straps from the rucksack - which was it? - you must know whether you slipped or tripped.

It seems the immediate cause of your accident was due to the fact that you tripped over some trailing straps on a rucksack.

Ask yourself this - if your shoelaces were loose and you sufffered the same accident, whose fault would that be?

Unless there was a problem with the stairs (which your post suggests there wasn't) then if you are contemplating going down the compensation route, you will need to prove negligence - and based on the post, the only suggestion of negligence seems to be your own.

I agree that pallets should not be placed near the stairs, but you could easily have hit your head on a handrail or indeed the floor.

What will happen now? - Report the incident in the accident book and move on.

real1314

p1nklady wrote: »

Hi, I've signed up for some advice on what has happened today at my work place.

I work in a fresh food produce company and today I slipped down small and steep stairs in the factory.

I was carrying a small work ruck sake which i was delivering to another place in the building, the ruck sake is old and has 4 long loose straps which I must of stood on and tripped. It was also raining outside so my shoes were slippery.

Also to add at the bottom of the stairs were a big pile of pallets which were very closely staked near the stairs as this where i banged my head against.

I had a big bump on my head and few cuts and scraps across my legs and arms, even though I felt fine after 10 minutes, my work place called an ambulance just to get me checked out. I went to A&E because of the head injury.

Just want to know what will happen now.. should I take this further? Should I attend work tomorrow?

Thanks

Do you receive any Health & Safety training?

Why did you carry the bag without sorting out the straps?

The rain & slipperyness (?) of your shoes are factors that you would probably be expected to account for using your own judgement.
The steepness of the stairs, similarly so.

If the pallets had not been where they were, might you have collided with something else? or would you have hit the ground?
:cool:

vax2002

What floor covering is on these stairs ?

mynameistallulah

elsien wrote: »

Why not see how you feel in the morning.
Then make sure the accident book is filled in and speak to a manager to get the pallets moved if they're a real health and safety issue. Plus any other concerns that may have risen out of the accident - like wearing shoes with a better grip?

I was going to suggest that the OP gets a grip also!

OP, you had an accident, these things happen. If you had an accident in your home, perhaps because someone had left something at the bottom of the stairs, what would you do? My advice is to get an early night, take a few painkillers if you are feeling a bit sore in the morning, and continue with life as before ... :A

Sambucus_Nigra

p1nklady wrote: »

I was carrying a small work ruck sake which i was delivering to another place in the building, the ruck sake is old and has 4 long loose straps which I must of stood on and tripped. It was also raining outside so my shoes were slippery.

Why did you leave the straps hanging and not gather them up or tie them out of the way?

The main thrust of the Health and Safety at Work act is that you are just as responsible for H&S as your employer is - so if there is something that you should have done, and you didn't do it - then you are just as culpable as the employer [or indeed another colleague].

sweetilemon

Did you believe there was a H&S issue before? Had you previously complained and nothing was done? If not, then accidents happen, thats life. I've fallen at work a few times, on particular slippy stairs and once on a stool i was standing on instead of ladders (ended up in hospital weeks later with an abcess caused by the fall- operation needed). It was an accident i could have prevented, didnt even tell my boss about my fall! Falling on the stairs in my job i have now I went home black and blue, raised the concern and the metal trim was replaced with non-slip. Problem solved. What goes around comes around. If your fit to work go in, if not, call in sick. Hope you feel better soon.