Slip & fall damages award of £12,500.

Mrs T was a 60-year-old woman enjoying her retirement. She was carrying some bags down the street after having done some shopping when she tripped on a loose paving slab that was sticking out approximately 1.5 inches above the surrounding slabs.

She had a nasty fall and sustained a very painful break to her shoulder. She had a pre-existing positional vertigo condition which was made much worse by the accident.

These two things combined meant that she was much less able to get out and about with her husband to do the things she loved. She needed a lot of help around the house and with her personal care and over time she became increasingly depressed.

The local authority has a duty to repair the pavements under the Highways Act, and they admitted liability for Mrs T’s accident on the basis that they had not inspected that stretch of pavement recently enough and hence had not done everything that could reasonably be expected of them.

Her case included a claim for the care that her husband provided to her and for the additional help that she needed around the house. We also made a claim on behalf of her health insurance providers for the cost of her physiotherapy.

The defendants disagreed with our valuation of the claim but we managed to negotiate them upwards from an initial offer of only £8,000 to a total damages award of £12,500.