Last updated on August 18th, 2015 at 04:10 pm

At around 8am on a March morning, Jason was making a delivery for Vesuvius to Don Springs on Coleford Road in Sheffield. It was his first time at this location and so he parked up and went to find someone to help. With no response from the main entrance, Jason walked along the private drive at the side of the factory, but still could not find anyone. A factory worker eventually answered Jason’s knocks to the side door of the factory and he was told to drive his car to the warehouse door.

Walking back to his car, Jason slipped on some ice, which he thought was strange, as, whilst it was a cold morning, there was no snow or ice anywhere else. When he looked around, he saw that the floor drain was frozen and blocked and so water that was coming down the drainpipe was simply flowing onto the drive, and that water had frozen due to the cold weather.

Getting to his feet, Jason was in pain in his ankle immediately. Hoping that he had not done anything serious, Jason managed to get back to the car and helped someone unload it. He told the man what had happened to him.

When Jason got back to his office he couldn’t get out of his car and, realising something serious had happened to his ankle, his boss took him to Chesterfield Royal Hospital, where x-rays confirmed that he had broken his ankle. Jason’s ankle was put in pot and he was given crutches.

Jason had to take two weeks off work, but had to wear the pot for 6 weeks, so life wasn’t particularly easy, and he had to borrow an automatic car to carry out his job as a sales rep.

Jason completed an accident form for his employers, Vesuvius, and also one for Don Springs. Don Springs initially sent an email to Jason, confirming that it had a problem with the drain causing the water to stay on top. However, via its insurers, it then denied liability, saying that the problem was not in fact caused by the blocked drain, but by a water pipe that had burst the very morning that Jason made the delivery. Don Springs said that there was no ice when staff arrived at 6.45 am and so the water must have been caused by staff running the taps and the water escaping from the pipe before Jason arrived. The company was adamant that, as no one was aware of the ice, it was not able to do anything about it and therefore not liable.

Jason contacted personal injury specialist Jonathan West at Graysons WE solicitors in Chesterfield for help and advice. Jonathan pursued Don Springs, with a photo of the drain showing vegetation/moss/damp on the wall behind the drain pipe and on the floor around the drain pipe. He suggested that this was not a problem that had developed overnight at all, but a long standing issue. Don Springs then admitted liability and Jonathan secured compensation of £4,715 for Jason.

Occupiers of premises have an obligation to maintain their property so that it is safe for anyone who uses it. Clearly Don Springs had not done that in this case.

For help and advice on compensation relating to accidents on other people’s property, or any kind of accident or injury, please contact our personal injury specialists now.