Mrs A had lived in the area and used the path that goes across the grounds for around 13 years.  She had walked on the path with her children, her dog and simply to get to the gym.  The council then started works to build a new football hub and leisure centre on the fields and the path was blocked off. Mrs A, and many others, then used another path, which went broadly in the same direction, although it stopped before it joined up with the remains of the original path, so for some time, Mrs A and others, used a grass bank that led to the original path.

Woman injured walking in a public place

On the day of the accident, Mrs A was walking her dog.  The weather was fine and dry, but as she came to the grass bank that led to the original path, she slipped and fell, hurting her wrist.  She reported her accident to St George’s Park Football Club, where someone applied ice to her wrist.  When she got home, her wrist was badly swollen, and she was in tremendous pain. Her husband took her to hospital, where x-rays confirmed she had fractured her wrist and it was put in a plaster back-slab.  This was replaced with an above elbow plaster the following week and that was removed six weeks later. Physiotherapy followed, and Mrs A remained in pain for some months.

Ms A noted that a temporary fence was erected fairly quickly, followed by a more permanent metal fence sometime after.  A tarmac pathway has also since been laid.

Council denies liability

Mrs A contacted Graysons to see if any redress was available for her injuries and Jonathan took up her case.  He contacted Sheffield City Council, but it denied liability, so Jonathan issued court proceedings.  However, before the case went to court, Jonathan was able to negotiate a settlement of £5,000 and Mrs A was happy to accept it.

If you have had an accident in a public place and feel that it was not your fault, please contact one of our personal injury experts and we will offer you a free of charge meeting in which we can discuss your case and advise on the prospects of success.  You can also find out more about claiming compensation for accidents that happen in public places on our web pages.