David Hinchcliffe was subcontracted to carry out work on the Darrass Hall Estate on behalf of Northumberland Borough Council.  The repair work had already been marked out by the council when he arrived.  He parked on a grass verge close by and got the road work signs out of the back of his van.  He had to walk on the grass verge to put the signs in place.  As he was doing so, the ground gave way beneath his feet as he stepped onto a broken manhole cover that was hidden by the grass.  He fell and injured his chest, back, leg and hip. David contacted Graysons to see if he was able to make a claim for compensation and Jonathan took up his case.

Jonathan contacted the council, who told him that it did not maintain the strip of grass on which the manhole cover sat and that it was the responsibility of Northumbrian Water Ltd.  Jonathan pursued the water authority for breach of duty of care, but it denied liability.  Expert reports were obtained from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and Jonathan issued court proceedings.  The water authority continued to deny liability and so the case went to Sheffield County Court in January 2021, where David won and was awarded compensation of £2,700.

If you have an accident and you feel that someone else was responsible, you might be able to claim compensation.  Contact our personal injury team now.  We will look at your case and assess its merits and let you know whether we are able to pursue the matter on your behalf. You can also find out much more about claiming compensation for an accident on our web pages.

Author: Jonathan West, partner and personal injury expert.