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Advice Needed Another Accident Doh!

Started by Guest_robinhood75_* , Sep 02 2010 09:30 PM

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25 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_robinhood75_*

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Posted 02 September 2010 - 09:30 PM

OK I was jogging down my road to catch a bus. All the houses down both sides of my street have large cellars, some with thick steel some with thin bendy steel but all have been OK up to now. So anyways as I was jogging down the road one gave way snapping the steel in two. It wasn't a thin bendy one but a thick sturdy one. I ended up slamming into the wall of the cellar hurting my right leg and then falling in the cellar landing awkward on my left foot. A woman who I had just gone past heard it happen came over to find me on the floor in a lot of pain. she knocked on the door of the house and the tenant and his friend came out and helped me get out.

I ended up sitting on the floor waiting for the ambulance to come. A fast response car came she had a look at me and took me to the hospital 3 streets away. I had my left foot xrayed. They wanted to make sure my ankle was OK as that was the one i broke last year and it has a metal bar in it still.

My question is this, who is responsible for it? Is it the landlord or is it the council? It's in the street but its part of the house so I'm unsure who to see about it.

Any help would be great thanks

The oxford st.png is from Google street view of the one i fell down.

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#2 jim2311

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Posted 02 September 2010 - 11:35 PM

Best to speak to one of the many "No Win No Fee" lawyers.

#3 hornynick

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 07:00 AM

The pub I worked in last year had an uneven cellar door and on a routine street inspection a council official noticed it. Within days they sent a letter telling us in no uncertain terms to get it sorted. The pub manager just passed it further up but a couple of days later it had those plastic fences they use on road works around it until it was fixed. Its just the fact the council have people out checking for problems with street furniture (as the drop doors were classed as) that leads me to believe that the council will be the first port of call for your compo claim. I would then assume that any money you may get, the council will just bill the owner of the property for and they would then fight it out but that would then not involve you anymore.

***My opinions only, not to be taken as gospel!!***

Edited by hornynick, 03 September 2010 - 07:01 AM.

#4 Mr House

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 07:02 AM

Best to speak to one of the many "No Win No Fee" lawyers.

Worth being a bit careful here.

If I was the landlord and you tired to sue me, I would counter sue you for breaking and entering and even call the police as you were caught broken into my property.

Sometimes unfortunate accidents happen and we live in such a pathetic society where "oh, I've fallen over - I must sue somebody". I would accept that an unfortunate accident happened and I don't know if you are, but if you are overweight, use it as a sign to lose some.

Deliberatly running on sheets of metal that covers holes is bound to lead to an accident at some point.

#5 jaybee

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 07:05 AM

Don't run on over cellar doors.

Player three it's YOU!

#6 samson81

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 07:50 AM

i would say it was the council m8 as they are the one's that are suppose to look after the roads and pathways.

as for sueing them i would 100% jogging across the metal well if it wasnt safe it shouldnt be there..

it could have easy been a lady with a newborn in a pushchair.....

i say m8 speaking to a no win no fee brief is the best option get the compo you deserve.

#7 Guest_Tommy c_*

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 08:00 AM

Same here i would say theres no signs up saying do not walk across this door at all or if your over weight.As everyone knows the trap door if on a main street should be made of cast iron/steel so it's as tough as it can be,it should not give way under any human weight,so yeah i would be looking for an explanation at the least.As mentioned in the post above this the person walking over that could have been a mother and her child and the outcome could have been alot worse!.

#8 Guest_robinhood75_*

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 12:17 PM

UPDATE.......

Went to the council to report it this morning. The lady gave the highways agency a call and sat me down in a private booth to talk to them. I told them what had happened and they said it was the responsibility of the land owner. They quoted "What if the hazard or damage is not the responsibility of Highways?
When a report of a hazard or damage is received the person taking the report will attempt to identify ownership and establish who is responsible for the property or street furniture from the details provided.

If the damage is clearly not the responsibility of Highways and Transport Services then ownership details can be established and we will contact the respective statutory undertaker or owner who is responsible. A request will be made that they attend and make the hazard safe within a set timescale. If they are unable to meet this timescale then Highways and Transport Service will make the hazard safe and will then recover the costs. "

I then went home and on the way i went back to the house to ask for the landlords details from a tenant that lives there she started swearing at me saying " your a f*****g scammer trying to get money out of my landlord, I have done more damage to my foot when i was dancing, my boyfriend has done far worse playing football." I took my camera out and recorded her saying all this obv without her knowing i was doing it.

Just to to get something straight harvey, the whole street has them and they extend almost to the road so it is almost impossible not to walk on them. How can the landlord say i was trying to break into his cellar at 6.45pm when its bright and a dozen or so people in the street who saw what happened? I know where ur coming from but there is no way he could try and use that excuse. here is a picture from my window of the street and as you can see every house on both sides have them and some are cracked and have been fitted with a metal plate to secure them.

The highways agency have given me the name of the business so I will be
contacting them in due cores.

EDIT....
Just contacted the people responsible and managed to talk to the director of the company. He said to send a letter in explaining what happened and when and he will pass it onto his insurance company. Not sure if its worth bothering to goto them ambulance chasers TBH as it may be quicker to deal with them direct.

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Edited by robinhood75, 03 September 2010 - 12:30 PM.

#9 hornynick

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 04:34 PM

TBH I would go to an ambulance chaser ASAP. Ths companys solicitors will rip you apart. They company will be all nicey nicey at first just so you deal with them alone while they try and trap you. When they think you have hung yourself they will pass it onto the solicitors to finish the job.
Ambulance chasers basically enter into a game of cat and mouse with the solicitors and know much better the tricks they will try and pull to get you to admit liability.
Even if the company is nice with you and offer you a settlement without solicitors the ambulance chasers would, no doubt, get you much more.

#10 Mr House

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Posted 03 September 2010 - 04:48 PM

Just to to get something straight harvey, the whole street has them and they extend almost to the road so it is almost impossible not to walk on them. How can the landlord say i was trying to break into his cellar at 6.45pm when its bright and a dozen or so people in the street who saw what happened? I know where ur coming from but there is no way he could try and use that excuse. here is a picture from my window of the street and as you can see every house on both sides have them and some are cracked and have been fitted with a metal plate to secure them.

The highways agency have given me the name of the business so I will be
contacting them in due cores.

EDIT....
Just contacted the people responsible and managed to talk to the director of the company. He said to send a letter in explaining what happened and when and he will pass it onto his insurance company. Not sure if its worth bothering to goto them ambulance chasers TBH as it may be quicker to deal with them direct.

Oh I see what you mean, ok I guess you have no choice but to cross them. I apoligise.

I would also deal with the people direct as they've "extended an olive branch". Turn them away and go to a claim company, they legitimately the ambulance chasers may hit a problem where the Director offered you support and you ignored them.

#11 Guest_robinhood75_*

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Posted 06 September 2010 - 02:06 PM

Decided to call the solicitors over the road from me as they deal with accidents on a no win no fee basis and its only a 1 minute to walk to them so its nice and local too. Will see what they say when I go for my free 30 minute meeting.

Edited by robinhood75, 06 September 2010 - 02:09 PM.

#12 nails

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Posted 06 September 2010 - 09:14 PM

take them to the cleaners m8. they are indeed responsible for their property and have to preactice due-dilagence at all times. like the guy said, he will pass it on to his solicitor and his insurers will deal with it anyway.

#13 Nudgeman

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Posted 06 September 2010 - 11:43 PM

No case to answer. Unless you can prove the landlord was aware of a defect, that could cause the grill to give way, and failed to act upon that information in a timely manner.
It's just an unfortunate accident and must be put down as such to save wasting your time and the landlord's time.
Still, it'll be interesting to see what the NWNF people say.

@_!!

#14 Guest_robinhood75_*

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Posted 07 September 2010 - 02:23 AM

No case to answer. Unless you can prove the landlord was aware of a defect, that could cause the grill to give way, and failed to act upon that information in a timely manner.
It's just an unfortunate accident and must be put down as such to save wasting your time and the landlord's time.
Still, it'll be interesting to see what the NWNF people say.

But if a car on the motorway hits you because it's tire blew out and it then crashed into your car you saying that it was just an unfortunate accident no one was to blame so you cant claim of their insurance? Even if the landlord was not aware of it there is still a case of an accident and he has insurance which will cover him for things like this. As it is a LTD company he will have to have insurance.

#15 gambogaz1

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Posted 07 September 2010 - 08:28 AM

But if a car on the motorway hits you because it's tire blew out and it then crashed into your car you saying that it was just an unfortunate accident no one was to blame so you cant claim of their insurance? Even if the landlord was not aware of it there is still a case of an accident and he has insurance which will cover him for things like this. As it is a LTD company he will have to have insurance.

The difference there being your property would have been damaged and in need of repair that you shouldn't have to pay as somebody hit you, however unfortunate it was for the other driver, and that's why Insurance for Cars is compulsary.

But house Insurance isn't, and by the looks of it no damage thankfully was done to you. As said above you have been lucky no serious damage was caused and if there had been then I'd be behind your pursuit of compensation, but you thudding your foot down on it could well have contributed to it giving way, you certainly wouldn't catch me running over them things, I tend to skip over the pub cellars.

If you do pursue the company for compensation, just remember the next time you get an insurance quote for whatever it is and you feel it's excessive. Well it's these blame there's a claim cases that have pushed em all up right across the board.

#16 Guest_robinhood75_*

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Posted 07 September 2010 - 09:58 AM

The difference there being your property would have been damaged and in need of repair that you shouldn't have to pay as somebody hit you, however unfortunate it was for the other driver, and that's why Insurance for Cars is compulsary.

But house Insurance isn't, and by the looks of it no damage thankfully was done to you. As said above you have been lucky no serious damage was caused and if there had been then I'd be behind your pursuit of compensation, but you thudding your foot down on it could well have contributed to it giving way, you certainly wouldn't catch me running over them things, I tend to skip over the pub cellars.

If you do pursue the company for compensation, just remember the next time you get an insurance quote for whatever it is and you feel it's excessive. Well it's these blame there's a claim cases that have pushed em all up right across the board.

I can see your point but i lost a days wages and was told not to go back for at least 3 days. As for the damage there was some. My right foot is still very swollen and the ankle is also bruised. I have not been able to sleep very well since it happened as i like to sleep on my front(more comfortable that way due to my arthritis) and have not been able to as the part of my leg that is swollen is on the front. I was in discomfort for a few days after with my left ankle that was sprained too. I'm not trying to take this guy for as much as i can that's why i went with a normal solicitor rather than a ambulance chaser. The other guy was saying you have to prove that the landlord was at fault, well the house next to the one i had the accident is also belonging to the same company and the cellar metal slabs are in serious need of replacement.

#17 jim2311

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Posted 07 September 2010 - 05:03 PM

There are always a lot of arguments for and against in situations like this, that is why it is best to get the professionals involved.
What if you had suffered permanent spine or brain damage?

There was a case not too long ago about a boy who won his injury compensation claim against his local council. What did he do? He injured himself breaking into a school. Crazy or what?

I live in Glasgow and many streets are covered in these old and now unused accesses that are in a sad state of health. They are hazards, and if no longer used should be securely sealed.

#18 Guest_robinhood75_*

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Posted 08 October 2010 - 02:16 PM

Well its been 5 weeks now and still no reply to the letter I sent them, I have got a solicitor that is more than happy to deal with this. I had to fill in a form saying what happened and how, I sent pictures back too. She said unless it's worth over £1000 they would not deal with it. I got a letter back yesterday saying she is more than happy to go ahead with this case. So they must think it's worth over £10

#19 keykey2299

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Posted 08 October 2010 - 04:15 PM

just reading through the thread, and you have every single right to claim. you didnt set out in the morning to fall down someones cellar did you??

take them for every single penny and then some, you'll get paid out. definate. he also has a compulsary obligation for the upkeep of his property and surroundings. i know somebody that just got £2500 for a bar stool that collasped. a fricking bar stool. these no win no fee gangs do take around a third of whatever you get. but its better to have abit of something, than alot of nothing.

and the fact that they have taken your case on, only shows that they believe they can win. As they will have very high fee's which the other sides party will have to pay.

good luck mate, but i dont think your going to need it. get yourself back to the doctors.

#20 Guest_robinhood75_*

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Posted 08 October 2010 - 05:25 PM

just reading through the thread, and you have every single right to claim. you didnt set out in the morning to fall down someones cellar did you??

take them for every single penny and then some, you'll get paid out. definate. he also has a compulsary obligation for the upkeep of his property and surroundings. i know somebody that just got £2500 for a bar stool that collasped. a fricking bar stool. these no win no fee gangs do take around a third of whatever you get. but its better to have abit of something, than alot of nothing.

and the fact that they have taken your case on, only shows that they believe they can win. As they will have very high fee's which the other sides party will have to pay.

good luck mate, but i dont think your going to need it. get yourself back to the doctors.

Yeah I know the no win no fee take alot as they are taking 25% of the money I may get in relation to my broken ankle last year and then there is the solicitors fees on top which they try to claim from the other side if successfu.