Fall compensation.

phatbear

I should start with staying im not that type guy, had issues before, car bumps etc and never once considered chasing anyone for anything beyond monies needed for repairs.

anyway a brief summary.

was in london on my own, and sober, and on my way to a gig when i tripped down a crack in the pavement the result of which was me breaking my humerus just below the shoulder socket which now requires surgery as the bone is so misaligned and in constant pain.

The upshot of this is needing a min of 6 weeks off work, which will cause a flag on my record and my other half having to take 4 weeks unpaid leave to tend to me, im not even factoring the cabs to get to a&e missed gig etc.

one main issue is due to having a broken bone the last thing on my mind was to take pictures of the area and i currently have no means to get back their due my current injury.

so would i be wasting my time chasing this with westminster council as i have no proof apart from call logs to 111 and lots of medical notes/xrays

Undervalued

phatbear said:

I should start with staying im not that type guy, had issues before, car bumps etc and never once considered chasing anyone for anything beyond monies needed for repairs.

anyway a brief summary.

was in london on my own, and sober, and on my way to a gig when i tripped down a crack in the pavement the result of which was me breaking my humerus just below the shoulder socket which now requires surgery as the bone is so misaligned and in constant pain.

The upshot of this is needing a min of 6 weeks off work, which will cause a flag on my record and my other half having to take 4 weeks unpaid leave to tend to me, im not even factoring the cabs to get to a&e missed gig etc.

one main issue is due to having a broken bone the last thing on my mind was to take pictures of the area and i currently have no means to get back their due my current injury.

so would i be wasting my time chasing this with westminster council as i have no proof apart from call logs to 111 and lots of medical notes/xrays

You may well be unless you can show that they were negligent.

A council cannot be expected to keep every road and pavement in perfect condition all of the time. Nor can they inspect every inch of the highway several times a day. Problems crop up, they need to be spotted and repaired an a reasonably prompt manner. However the key word is reasonably!

If you can show that it has been in a dangerous condition for some time, or that it has been reported to them but no action has been taken within a reasonable time, then you may have a case.

If you "ambulance chase" and / or engage a no win no fee lawyer they may settle, not because they are liable but simply because it is cheaper than defending the matter. That is between you and your conscience! 

phatbear

Thanks for your reply.

im def not an ambulance chaser ive had lots of instances in my life where i could have chased compensation for issues but its really not me.

I get your point im just naffed off that due to a fall me and my other half are going to be thousands out of pocket and with the potential of longterm/lifelong issues.

Manxman_in_exile

I don't see that you can lose anything by exploring making a claim.  I'm not sure if you should try a NWNF lawyer or just approach Wesrminster directly.

One thing I would say is that if the defect in the pavement was of such a magnitude as to cause you to trip and fall and break your arm, then Westminster will probably argue that it must have been big enough for you to notice it and avoid it.  (I think there used to be guidelines about how big or deep a defect in a pavement had to be for a council to be negligent, but there was also guidance that if you tripped over something above a certain height or depth, then you weren't looking where you were going when you should have been looking).

phatbear

I see your point but such a defence could be used by any insurance companies, for example, to hardly ever pay out for any claims.

ive googled westminster council and there appears to be a process for such things i may well leave it and see how my recovery from the op goes.

As stated im not after an unjustifiable amount im just naffed off that my other half having to care for me will result in us losing a chunk of our collective income

Manxman_in_exile

phatbear said:

I see your point but such a defence could be used by any insurance companies, for example, to hardly ever pay out for any claims...

Well of course.  They aren't going to pay up just because you made a claim!  It's a pity you didn't get a photo or witnesses at the time, but I'm sure that was not at the front of your mind. 

pinkshoes

For a claim to be successful, you would need to show the council were negligent. 

It might be worth looking online for a local group in that area, and ask if anyone else had reported the issue, as if the council were aware of it and it was deemed dangerous, then there would be the potential to claim. 

Have you looked on Google Street View?

In reality, it's probably just an unfortunate event, and had you been stepping differently or fallen in a different way, you would have escaped any injury. 

Hope you feel better soon!

DB1904

phatbear said:

I should start with staying im not that type guy, had issues before, car bumps etc and never once considered chasing anyone for anything beyond monies needed for repairs.

anyway a brief summary.

was in london on my own, and sober, and on my way to a gig when i tripped down a crack in the pavement the result of which was me breaking my humerus just below the shoulder socket which now requires surgery as the bone is so misaligned and in constant pain.

The upshot of this is needing a min of 6 weeks off work, which will cause a flag on my record and my other half having to take 4 weeks unpaid leave to tend to me, im not even factoring the cabs to get to a&e missed gig etc.

one main issue is due to having a broken bone the last thing on my mind was to take pictures of the area and i currently have no means to get back their due my current injury.

so would i be wasting my time chasing this with westminster council as i have no proof apart from call logs to 111 and lots of medical notes/xrays

Do you really need 24/7 care for four weeks?

phatbear

DB1904 said:

phatbear said:

I should start with staying im not that type guy, had issues before, car bumps etc and never once considered chasing anyone for anything beyond monies needed for repairs.

anyway a brief summary.

was in london on my own, and sober, and on my way to a gig when i tripped down a crack in the pavement the result of which was me breaking my humerus just below the shoulder socket which now requires surgery as the bone is so misaligned and in constant pain.

The upshot of this is needing a min of 6 weeks off work, which will cause a flag on my record and my other half having to take 4 weeks unpaid leave to tend to me, im not even factoring the cabs to get to a&e missed gig etc.

one main issue is due to having a broken bone the last thing on my mind was to take pictures of the area and i currently have no means to get back their due my current injury.

so would i be wasting my time chasing this with westminster council as i have no proof apart from call logs to 111 and lots of medical notes/xrays

Do you really need 24/7 care for four weeks?

Im not sure any one person can provide 24/7care to anyone.

However along with my broken humerus i also damaged my other shoulder in the fall, although according to xrays etc this is soft tissue damage so will heal but at the mo, and until i wake up one morning and i have some reasonable rotation in my shoulder even the basics, like going to the toilet, is difficult suffice to say this is not a situ i relish but needs must.

elsien

phatbear said:

I see your point but such a defence could be used by any insurance companies, for example, to hardly ever pay out for any claims.

ive googled westminster council and there appears to be a process for such things i may well leave it and see how my recovery from the op goes.

As stated im not after an unjustifiable amount im just naffed off that my other half having to care for me will result in us losing a chunk of our collective income

Accidents happen. People fall over their own feet. Just because there’s an injury it doesn’t automatically follow that there’s a claim. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sorry to hear of your troubles OP.

There are a lot of places dealing with personal injury claims and you'd be better off with professional advice as they'd know exactly what is what. 

If the defect you tripped on hasn't been repaired and it's feasible to get some photos that would certainly help your position. 

I'm sure there's something about paving slabs having to protrude by a certain measurement before a claim can be made.

I know of a case locally to myself where someone tripped on a slab and got a pay out so it does happen and it sounds as if you've genuinely suffered so can't see the harm in looking at professional advice over the matter.