A Train Station Employee Trips at the Entrance to the Train Station keyboard_arrow_down
What Happened?
Catherine* worked as a Counter Assistant at a train station. She was walking into the station on her way to start work one morning. At the very entrance to the station was a small area covered with traditional paving stones. The paving stones were a little uneven. One of the paving stones was approximately 15 mm higher than the other one. As she stepped off it, she lost her balance, falling forwards and sideways and landing on her left arm. She suffered a serious fracture to her left arm and her left elbow.
How Was She Affected?
Catherine sustained fractures to her left radius and ulna. She needed an operation known as an Open Reduction and Internal Fixation procedure. In simple terms, the doctors operated to insert nails or pins and a small metal plate into her elbow and arm to hold it together. Following on from the operation, she had permanent restricted movement in her left arm. This meant she struggled to drive and could no longer use a manual car. She also suffered mentally, having to live with low mood, a lack of confidence and anxiety. She could not drive to see her friends and family and struggled as much mentally as she did physically with her injuries.
Her home and family life was severely affected. Her disabled son and unwell husband depended on her to care, clean and cook for them.
How Did We Win The Claim?
The station denied responsibility for the accident from the outset. They even denied that the pavement where she fell belonged to them. We were able to rely on historical maps and local regulations to show that the station were responsible for the area where Catherine fell. Despite this, the station still denied responsibility and we had to take them to Court. They finally agreed to pay Catherine a substantial award of compensation just one week before the trial of her case was due to take place.
How Much Compensation Did He Receive?
We sent Catherine to both a Consultant Upper Limb Surgeon and it to a Consultant Psychiatrist. The Upper Limb Surgeon confirmed that Catherine had suffered from very difficult injuries, that her left arm movements will be permanently restricted and painful and that she had a 15% chance of developing arthritis later on in her life. Helpfully for Catherine, her employer found her job which she could do within their organisation. She was only a couple of years away from retirement in any event. We agreed £20,000 in compensation for Catherine’s elbow injury
The Consultant Psychiatrist felt that Catherine had developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He was a specialist in this disorder and his evidence was accepted by the station and she received a substantial award of £15,000 for PTSD.
Catherine also received £13,270 for the care that she had received from her family in the past and £34,000 for the care that she would need in the future. Her total award was £85,000, which was discounted by 20% to take account of her ‘contribution’ towards the accident on the basis that Catherine accepted that she did not look closely where she was walking when it she fell. She also accepted that she knew that this particular area of paving stones was uneven. Her final award of compensation was £68,000.00.
If you or someone close to you has been injured in a slipping accident at work, or in a shop, supermarket or any public place, The Claims Partnership will be happy to help you. All our services are No Win/No Fee. We never charge our clients for advice and always have time to chat on the phone, via text or by email. We will do our best to help you and point you in the right direction, even if we cannot take on your case.
You can contact us
By Phone on 01772562084
By Email @ info@theclaimspartnership.co.uk
By Text on 07451279084
*In order to protect our client’s privacy and confidentiality, as well as to comply with the settlement terms that we have agreed with Defendants, our clients name has been changed, as have some other minor details.