As Britain struggles to cope with the chaos delivered by heavy snowfalls, hospitals in the worst-hit areas have had to deal with a surge in snow and ice-related injuries.
People avoiding hazardous conditions on the roads have found walking along the nation’s pavements every bit as dangerous.
In the Midlands and southern Scotland, A&E departments have reported unusually high admissions for fractures caused by slips and falls.
At one hospital, in Reading, the number of admissions during the worst 24-hour period of the blizzard was 273 when the average is 200.
A spokesman for the hospital said: “The vast majority of those 273 were the result of icy conditions. The hospital even had to lay on an extra operating theatre to cope.”
Many people are angrily criticising the lack of preparation by their local councils to cope with the severe weather.
Anyone thinking of taking legal action arising from an injury sustained as a result of the inclement weather, however may want to think again.
As one of our specialist personal injury solicitors at Oliver & Co Julian Evitts, explains: “Unfortunately if you slip on ice on the pavement and are injured, that is not enough to allow you to bring a successful claim.
You have to be able to show that the council acted “unreasonably” in failing to grit the pavement where you fell. This is very difficult to establish. The Courts are usually very sympathetic to councils when there is a spell of bad weather. Councils have limited money to spend on gritting and often have only a short period of time to grit roads. The Courts usually accept that the priority for gritting will be important roads and not pavements, as a road traffic accident would probably have much more serious consequences than a fall on a pavement.
It is important to remember, however, that this advice only applies to falls on pavements which form part of the public highway, i.e. pavements alongside public roads. If you injured falling on ice elsewhere, say in a car park or on private land, it may be easier to bring a successful personal injury claim.”
Potholes and damage to roads
However, it is not just the snow on the ground that causes people to fall and sustain nasty injuries as one of our personal injury lawyers, Kathryn Bull, explains:
“The snow and ice have had a marked impact to the condition of the roads after they have left. For example, tarmac has broken/sunken away creating potholes in the highway and causing more people to fall and cars to become damaged.
As with gritting, the Councils have a duty to maintain the highways but cannot be expected to repair every pothole the moment it arises. They have a duty to ensure that major routes are safe and have to prioritise repairs meaning that a defect in a cul-de-sac for example may remain for some time without people necessarily being able to claim.”
Slipping in car parks and on private property
“There is a distinction between slipping on ice on the highway and slipping on ice in a supermarket car park” stresses Jyoati Chada, another one of our specialist personal injury solicitors. “With the latter, liability under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 applies. This legislation imposes a different duty and a different standard from the Highways Act 1980. The occupier of shops, offices, car parks and similar places will have a far greater obligation to take such care as is “reasonable in all the circumstances” for the safety of visitors.
For example, a supermarket car park is a place to which drivers are ‘invited’ and leaving it un-gritted on an icy night may very well be a breach of the duty of the supermarket under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.”
Our advice is wear practical footwear, take things slowly and be extra vigilant as even reasonable steps may not be enough to prevent a slip.
If, however, you are unfortunate enough to fall victim to the adverse weather conditions and suffer an injury in circumstances which are not your fault but may be the responsibility of someone else then contact the experts at Oliver & Co.
For more information about making a personal injury claim for compensation on a ‘no win no fee’ basis, as a result of slipping or tripping, please complete our enquiry form or call us on 0870 471 9852.
