A Hospital Porter Suffers An Injury To His Back and Neck After Slipping On a Hospital Corridor

What Happened?

Lenny* works at a hospital as a porter. He received a message to tell him to go to the main corridor to collect a wheelchair. The main corridor had a continuous line of glass windows along both sides. When he located the wheelchair, he manoeuvred it into position and used his right foot to unlock the brake. As he did so, he placed his weight on his left foot, which began to slip forcing his left foot under the wheels of the chair. He lost his balance and fell heavily on his lower back.

His team leader came to help him and together they noticed that there was a small puddle of water next to where the wheelchair had been left. This was immediately next to an open window. Whilst it was not raining at the time of Lenny’s accident, it had been raining beforehand and the likelihood was that the puddle on the floor had been created by rainwater coming in through the open window.

How Was He Affected?

Lenny suffered from a very painful lower back. He had previously had lower back problems and the accident brought them back with a vengeance. He also found that his neck and left shoulder were sore as a result of the whiplash effect when he fell.

The nature of Lenny’s job, which involved pushing and pulling of trolleys and wheelchairs meant that he could not meet the physical demands of the job. We were able to secure an early admission of responsibility from the hospital, meaning that we could send Lenny for an appointment with a local Physiotherapist, who said that Lenny would need eight sessions of physiotherapy to get him back to work.

We got an interim payment from the hospital so that Lenny could start the physiotherapy less than three months after the accident. Even so, Lenny was not able to work properly for six months. Helpfully, because Lenny worked for a hospital, his contract meant he got paid his average wage for the first six months.

How Did We Win The Claim?

We were firstly able to prove that there was a spillage of water on the floor. The hospital’s own Accident Report recorded that the floor was wet. The hospital tried to defend the case on the basis that they had not caused the puddle, but we were able to rely on something known as the Workplace Regulations and to show that the water had very probably come in through the open window. The hospital eventually accepted that they should have made sure that the windows were closed when it was raining.

How Much Compensation Did He Receive?

We sent Lenny to a specialist Consultant Back Surgeon who said Lenny had degeneration or an arthritis type condition in his lower spine and that the accident had accelerated these problems by a period of around three years. We negotiated an award of £10,500 for Lenny’s injuries, £320 for the overtime that he normally worked, even though he had been paid his wages in full.

Lenny also received £350 for the physiotherapy he had, as well as £1210 for the extra care and support his family had provided for him whilst he recovered from his injuries.

If you or someone close to you has been injured in a slipping accident at work, or in a shop, supermarket or any public place, The Claims Partnership will be happy to help you. All our services are No Win/No Fee. We never charge our clients for advice and always have time to chat on the phone, via text or by email. We will do our best to help you and point you in the right direction, even if we cannot take on your case.

You can contact us:

By Phone on 01772562084
By Email @ info@theclaimspartnership.co.uk
By Text on 07451279084

*In order to protect our client’s privacy and confidentiality, as well as to comply with the settlement terms that we have agreed with Defendants, our clients name has been changed, as have some other minor details.