Slipping or falling on ice - personal injury claims
advice
Slipping or falling accidents on ice UK
This legal advice website is managed by
Winston
Solicitors LLP, regulated by the Solicitors
Regulation Authority.
This page offers advice to individuals who have
suffered personal injury following a fall on ice or snow
in the UK. We discuss what circumstances may lead to a
no win
no fee compensation claim being made and what steps should be
taken to pursue such a claim.
Read more about
trips and slips not involving ice or related weather
conditions.
If you have suffered injury in a fall - we
can help you make a NO WIN NO FEE claim.
Make an enquiry about your case today
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call our solicitor helpline FREE on 0800 0322210.
The majority of
ice related accidents occur on public
roads or pavements and generally fall under the
responsibility of the local council or authority. There
is much legal debate about how far a councils duty of
care should go as far as gritting or salting is
concerned.
It has to be accepted that any council
would have an impossible task trying to make safe or
grit / salt every
highway, pavement or public area during a cold spell of
weather. This has to be borne in mind when you consider
whether a claim should be made.
The law on the subject is varied and different
solicitors will have different views. Many claims fail
because they don't meet vital criteria.
See also:
Accidents on ice
in supermarkets and other businesses
Accidents in snow and ice whilst at work
Find out today
if you can pursue a claim for personal injury suffered
on a slippy, icy road or pavement.
If the liability is for negligence not a breach of
section 41(1) of the Highways Act 1980; Liability there
may be liability under
the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957.
This Act 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 station car park is a
place to which drivers are "invited" as are rail
passengers and leaving it un-gritted on an icy night is
a breach of the duty of the station owner or controller
under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957; The duty in
negligence is the same as the duty under the Occupiers'
Liability Act 1957.
Here are some additional points to consider before
bringing a claim in these circumstances:
Some Highway Authorities are under the mistaken
belief that they cannot be liable for claims for
personal injury arising from a failure to de-ice their
roads. They are wrong.
It does require the people occupying the premises to:
take account of weather forecasts to have salt in stock;
to clear a safe path through the snow; and to put up
warning notices or shut the premises if necessary.
It is not a defence for a defendant to say that
members of the public are invited onto premises but run
their own risk of skidding on compacted snow that it was
reasonable for the defendant to have cleared up;
It will be difficult for a defendant to raise a
defence on the basis that the cost of remedy is too
high. When balanced against the cost of a compensation
claim, the above measures an only be considered
reasonable under the circumstances. Judges may find
negligence in some of the following circumstances: where
there is no system for spreading grit; where, although
there is a system for spreading grit, the actual
spreading does not follow the system; if the system
itself is inadequate. For example, there is no
consideration of weather forecasts or no salt in stock;
if other occupiers have gritted but the defendant has
not; if there are no tools for clearing snow and ice or
spreading grit; if a Highways Authority has failed to
comply with the "Code of Good Practice" or its own local
practice standards.
As always, the range of factual circumstances will be
large, but the usual test of reasonable foresee ability
of harm and an examination of the reasonable steps taken
to remove the danger of ice will be a good guide when
considering if a claimant has a potential case.
Other Ice related accidents:
The Claims Connection trip slip or fall claims section
- UK tripping claim and personal injury compensation
specialists.
trip or fall claims explained -
what you should do after an accident -
supermarket fall -
slipping accidents at work -
ice accidents businesses -
tripping slipping compensation claims -
car accident claims -
whiplash compensation -
accidents at work -
medical negligence
MORE LINKS:
British
safety website -
winter
footwear safety -
CAR PARK ice accidents businesses -
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