Slipping on ice – is anyone to blame?
Winter is definitely here! Plummeting temperatures brings ice, and then there’s the snow to contend with. Some of us like it, other s don’t. Sadly lots of people suffer injury and losses when they slip on snow or ice.
If that happens to you, what can you do? Are you eligible to make a compensation claim?
At Russell Worth, we’ve helped lots of people make claims when they’ve slipped on ice and snow in the following types of place:
- At work
- In shops and supermarkets
- At Retail parks and malls
- In Car Parks
- In shopping centres
- At school or college
- At hospitals
- At train or bus stations
- In some private properties
To be eligible, you must have suffered injury in the accident, and the slip must be because of someone else’s fault or negligence.
Whether you can claim compensation for the injury you suffer depends mainly on where you fell. The occupier of premises has a duty to ensure that you are reasonably safe to use the premises. This includes keeping areas free from ice and snow where it could cause an accident.
But you can also claim if you slip on ice or snow at work. Employers have a duty of care to their employees. So, they must do everything reasonably practicable to ensure their premises are safe for their employees to use, and to ensure they are not in danger of slipping or falling on snow and ice at their premises. Reasonable steps must be taken to ensure frequently used areas such as car parks, pathways, yards and open areas are cleared and/or warning signs put up. Don’t forget that your employers are required to carry insurance for such claims – the insurers pay rather than your employers. Also, in most cases it is illegal to fire an employee for making a claim.
So, wrap up warm and take care when you walk around. Snow and ice can look very pretty, but they bring danger with them, and if you are injured, the effects can be much longer lasting than the snow.
