Accident at a restaurant

Nicky321

Please feel free to move this post if it is in the wrong place.

Today a couple of my relatives and friends went for a meal at a local restaurant to as my aunt (69yrs) stood up to get a coffee, she lost her footing and fell down a 8 inch step approx and fell backwards onto a bracket that had been left in place following the removal of the radiator (surely the brackets should have been removed or the area around cordoned off. My aunt screamed out in pain "get me off" "help lift me off" it was then when my mum and her friends realized that she had impailed herself onto the bracket and was stuck onto it. A lady came over and helped her off the bracket and managed to stem the bleeding while someone called for an ambulance. She had dressings applied by the paramedics and they took her to the hospital. Her friends filled in a accident form at the restaurant. The restaurant refunded the cost of their meals. While at the hospital my aunt received several stitches to the wound in her back.

This could have resulted in a far worse accident, it is bad enough! Do we contact the local Health and Safety department at the local council?

How do we go about making a complaint/claim?

Thanking you in advance x

dacouch

What are you looking at achieving?

Compensation for your aunt

or

To make sure the restaurant correct the problem

Nicky321

dacouch wrote: »

What are you looking at achieving?

Compensation for your aunt

or

To make sure the restaurant correct the problem

Thankyou for your reply, I guess the answer is both. The accident shouldn't of happened and it needs correcting before someone else gets injured.

irishjohn

Probably the best place to start is by booking an appointment to see a solicitor in order to claim compensation for injuries received when your aunt was not moving carefully enough - the fall was not caused by any failure on the part of the restaurant, the injury to her back was a result and that is I imagine what your claim is based on. As there are two parties responsible - your aunt and the restaurant so this is not a cut and dried case, it will need a good legal mind to drive it.

In order to save other customers from such an injury then you should report this accident to the health and safety department at the local council where the restaurant is sited. It will be their responsibility to inspect the premises and determine if the rules on health and safety have been broken.

shop-to-drop

Quickest route to protect others would be to visit the restaurant to see for yourself they have now removed the brackets. If they haven't speak to the manager and report them.

dacouch

You will probably find your aunt is not that bothered about claiming.

If she wants to make a claim, try and see if she had Union membership or a Home Insurance with Legal Protection Cover as these will generally pay all of her legal costs.

I'm not a legal expert, but you may find that your aunt is partially liable for the accident, eg her initial fall was not the restaurants fault but they're at fault for unprotected bracket. Which may mean her compensation is reduced proportionately.

If she does not have union membership or Household Legal Protection then she will be looking at the no win no fee companies. They will often take a percentage of her compensation to go towards their fees.

With regard to ensuring the restaurant will take action, you can either have a chat with them and see if they take on board the problems and take action. Or go straight to H&S who may or may not take action and if they do it can may be a quiet word or a reasonably big fine and / or prosecution.

Personally I think you would be better talking about this on another day as worrying about this on the same day could mean you make decisions you may not have

Nicky321

thanks for the replies, I have heard the table she was seated at was on a raised area and there was hardly any room to stand after getting up from her chair before she needed to step down onto the main floor area.

larkrisetocandleford

There should be a reasonable level clearance all around a dining table and around where a chair would reasonably be pushed out to when the occupant stands. To pursue this you will need photos of the siting of the chair and table, the proximity to the step and the wall which held the bracket. My guess is that the scene will not be the same tomorrow. It sounds like a nasty injury.

irishjohn

Nicky321 wrote: »

thanks for the replies, I have heard the table she was seated at was on a raised area and there was hardly any room to stand after getting up from her chair before she needed to step down onto the main floor area.

Hearsay is not enough to use to pursue a claim. Its beginning to sound like you want to make the restaurant wholly responsible for your Aunt's fall.

Nicky321

irishjohn wrote: »

Hearsay is not enough to use to pursue a claim. Its beginning to sound like you want to make the restaurant wholly responsible for your Aunt's fall.

No not at all. But my cousin has rang the restaurant and asked to have a copy of the accident form they told her she could go and pick it up, when she got there they havent got a copy its all done online supposedly, although one member of the party actually filled in the form!

keithdc

Perhaps the restaurant will counter-sue for damage to their bracket!!