Injury Claim

swingaloo

jaynee121 said:

No we didn't go in that way so we weren't aware of these steps, also my husband had one pint with his meal. 

If those steps were not safe then surely many others would have fallen on them. Perhaps your husband just mis-stepped?

Its a good few years ago now but I missed my footing on some stairs in a store in town when out shopping with my hubby. He helped me up (when he stopped laughing) and I hobbled for a few days on a very sore ankle. My fault entirely, there were dozens of people using those stairs. It's not always someone else's fault.

Aylesbury_Duck

It does sound as if it's just one of those things, but, since there is an injury and costs arising from it, you may as well consult a solicitor to get some proper advice.  None of us can judge liability from your description, we can only offer an opinion.

TELLIT01

Was the fall reported to the restaurant at the time and was it recorded in their accident book?  I ask because my wife slipped on a wet floor which the premises owners claim was wiped regularly.  Because of the severity of the injury to her leg, the Consultant said it was 'life altering', we have been pursuing a claim through our legal protection.  We are 12 months down the line and the owners are denying all knowledge and claiming nothing was reported to them.  We aren't in a position to say whether or not it was reported but do know 'Wet Floor' signs appeared very shortly after my wife was carried out to our car and I drove her to hospital.  Before anybody asks, we didn't wait for an ambulance as our local service has one of the worst waiting times in the country.  I didn't report the incident myself as I was more concerned about getting treatment for my wife.

LightFlare

you will need plenty of photos of the area/step if you are wanting to put on any type of claim.
they will need to be taken with the same lighting conditions/time of day as the incident.
when you have those, maybe you could post 1 or 2 here so people can get an idea of the scene.

as above, it is essential that the business is aware of the accident/incident and that is reported correctly 

jaynee121

Yes all was reported and documented at the time, the Restaurant called the ambulance. I also took photo's of the steps for my own reference. My husband is 78 years old with many health issues including chronic kidney disease and bone marrow cancer so this fall could potentially be life altering for my husband in the long term unfortunately

LinLui

jaynee121 said:

Yes all was reported and documented at the time, the Restaurant called the ambulance. I also took photo's of the steps for my own reference. My husband is 78 years old with many health issues including chronic kidney disease and bone marrow cancer so this fall could potentially be life altering for my husband in the long term unfortunately

I'm sorry that is the case, and I hope he recovers well. But there are steps all over the country and there is no law saying they must have handrails, caution signs or tape. You would have to show that somehow the restaurant were negligent - the steps were not maintained, loose or something. Honestly, accidents just happen. This sounds like one of them. And I say that as someone with serious mobility issues. We just have to watch where we are going. 

Vectis

jaynee121 said:

My husband missed the bottom step of 2 steps coming out of restaurant, an ambulance was called and he was in hospital for a week and has a broken hip, the steps did not have any mind the step signs or chevron tape as a warning also no hand rail. The colour of the steps were the same as the flooring making it dangerous to see. Any advice as to whether I should make a claim regarding this, thank you

But, he knew the steps were there as he'd already walked up them? I assume he didn't trip up them earlier?

You can't expect every step, everywhere, to be covered in chevrons, warning signs and with rails. That's simply unreasonable.

Now, if it was winter, and the steps were icy etc then you might have a claim. But, just because someone falls over doesn't mean you can claim compensation.

An accident  happened, your husband fell over possibly because he wasn't looking where he was going? It happens every day. If we all claimed compensation every time we fell over we'd all be millionaires by now.

jaynee121

Sorry, No he didn't know the steps were there because we entered the restaurant through a different entrance to the exit, just to clarify. Your sarcastic remark is not needed and I quote
"But, he knew the steps were there as he'd already walked up them? I assume he didn't trip up them earlier?"  

Phoenix72

Some things you just need to be put down to wrong place, wrong time and nobody is to blame. 

mr_stripey

No one here can say if this was negligent in some way , or was just an accident.

You need to speak to a solicitor who will be better able to determine if there is a case here.