Accident on Footpath

Mr B was walking along the public footpath of the housing estate near his home with his brother. They decided to cross the road and in doing so, Mr B tripped over a raised kerb stone edge that was protruding out of the highway. The kerb stone appeared raised as the adjacent kerb stone had in fact sunk into a drain in the road way. Unfortunately, Mr B did not see the hazard and he fell to the floor, injuring his knee. He required arthroscopic surgery on the knee and care from family members with everyday household chores. A claim was made against the Council for person injury and other losses for their failing to identify the defect upon their prior inspections and their failure to repair the same promptly. The Council fought the case tooth and nail on the basis that the defect was not deemed as a dangerous defect requiring intervention, at the date of their last inspection which was 2 months prior to Mr B’s accident. it was found by the Judge at Trial that the defect was in fact dangerous and therefore should have been noticed and repaired following the Council’s inspection prior to Mr B’s accident.Please be careful when walking along public highways as the surfaces are often uneven , potholed and contain tripping hazards such as that in the case of Mr B. If however you find yourself unfortunate enough to suffer injury as a result of a tripping accident on a public highway, contact Brearleys for some initial advice on your eligibility to make a claim.For more details call any of our offices or use our free phone number 0800 0923422.  Alternatively visit our dedicated website <http://www.brearleyspersonalinjury.co.uk/trips-and-slips/>