Ms T, a bank clerk, was training to take part in the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research, and was running along the streets of South Yorkshire regularly.  One June evening, at about 6pm, Ms T was jogging along a pavement in a residential estate in Greasborough when she tripped on a raised paving slab.  She fell to the ground onto her left shoulder and felt immediate pain.

Rip on raised paving slab causes fractured shoulder

Ms T was in agony and knew she needed attention, but as she was on her way to her parents to collect her dog, who they had been looking after whilst she was at work, she pushed herself up with her right hand and continued to walk the short distance.  As soon as her mum saw Ms T, she could see she was in pain and took her to Rotherham General Hospital’s A & E department.

X-rays were taken at the hospital and Ms T was told she had fractured the left proximal humerus in her left shoulder and had badly bruised her elbow.

Max 95% recovery expected after trip on raised paving slab

Ms T had to return to hospital several times so the fracture could be monitored.  She had a number of physiotherapy sessions, a steroid injection and an arthroscopy.  She also had to take eight months off work.  A consultant orthopaedic surgeon examined Ms T and suggested that she would recover in about 13 months from the date of the accident, but would only achieve 90% – 95% of normal shoulder function.

During her time off work, Ms T had to rely heavily on her mum for help with every-day tasks, such as dressing, bathing, general housework and shopping etc.

RMBC denies liability

Believing that Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) were to blame for the accident as it had failed to maintain the pavement, Ms T contacted Graysons to see if she could claim compensation and Tracey took up her case.  RMBC initially denied liability, saying it had a good system of inspection and maintenance in place.  However, documents disclosed to Tracey proved otherwise.  Tracey issued court proceedings against RMBC, who continued to defend the claim.  When the council saw Ms T’s witness statement, however, it decided to make an offer, but the offer was extremely low and negotiations didn’t help increase it, so Tracey continued to pursue the case.  A court date was set, but the council decided to settle before the case got to court and made an offer of £10,500, which Ms T was happy to accept – pleased that she did not have to go to court.

If you have had an accident on public property and you think that it was not your fault, contact our personal injury specialists now.  We will arrange a free of charge meeting in which we can discuss your case and let you know what the next steps will be.

You can find out about claiming compensation for accidents that happen on public footpaths and highways on our website.