Slip Advice....

[PaoloNI]

Hey people,

I had quite the nasty slip on an inadequately signposted wet floor at a service station on Thursday evening and am positive I have a case for claim, I would like some advice on how to proceed.

I have made notes about the particulars after the event and have requested CCTV from the company concerned on Friday via an email...is there anything in particular I can do to ensure they fulfil my request...does this request have to be like an SAR template etc.? Should I scan and forward any documents to help identify myself? Will email suffice etc.?

I will try to get my injuries looked at by a Dr., but may hope for an emergency appointment/cancellation (the NHS is so stretched), I will photograph the injuries when the bruising shows the trauma a bit better.

Do I contact a local solicitor as soon as possible, if so, how can I best help any potential counsel?

Thanks in advance for any advice/kindnesses offered! Hope this finds everyone well.

P.

[Peridot]

Hi Paolini,

Sorry you have had a slip. Those floors can be treacherous when wet. Slipping and tripping accidents can be difficult to pursue, but not impossible. Did you take any photos of the area, including location of signage, if any, at the time? Probably the least of your worries at that moment to be honest but evidence such as photos and accident book reports are important.

In order to be successful in any personal injury claim you need to show that the negligence of the service station owners caused the accident and as a result you sustained an injury. In addition to be able to sue the owner of the premises the injury itself would have to be over a certain value. The value of different injuries come from previous caselaw and there is a sliding scale of values to assist. You will appreciate there are very wide ranging injury types and severities but not all injuries would justify a claim being made. What is the injury you sustained?

Sustaining some bruising may not be sufficient for a claim to be successful (although still worth a complaint to the service station imo, if nothing else but to prevent it happening again and encourage them to review their practices). You would also need to evidence that you sought medical attention (which it appears you are doing) Did you report the accident at the time? Was an accident book completed?

If the accident wasn't reported at the time then you may struggle with the claim. You can appreciate there are some people who would say something happened and it hadn't, so without evidence of the accident the potential defendant is entitled to question this. If CCTV was the only evidence and they have not retained it (now they have received your request they shouldn't delete or film over it ) then you will be in difficulties. They are not under an obligation to retain all CCTV footage for any length of time. Hopefully you reported to someone before you left the service station.

Do make sure you see your GP so the injury is logged. Keep any receipts for medication you purchase etc. It would be a good idea to write down the facts including times etc while it is fresh in your mind. I would suggest that if your injury settles over this week it may not be a viable option to make a claim. However if you continue to experience problems then keep seeing the Dr, so you can evidence the progression of the injury.

Once we have a little more detail from you we'll be able to point you in the right direction.