Common Workplace Hazard Causes Injury

Spills; a regular occurrence in life and the most common reason why a floor would need to be mopped and left to dry during the working day. To keep customers and workers safe, businesses should use signs to alert people to the wet floor hazard. If only her workplace had done just that our client Karen may never have been injured.

Karen was on shift at a local pizza restaurant as a waitress. Her boss had just mopped the kitchen floor but didn’t put up any caution signs. Unaware the floor was wet, Karen walked into the kitchen carrying plates, slipping on the wet floor and causing soft tissue injuries to her back, shoulder and lower limbs. With the plates going flying she was lucky it wasn’t even worse!

Karen contacted Irvings about her injury and we made a claim against her employer. They denied any wrongdoing; claiming her manager shouted “watch out” to Karen as she walked into the kitchen. She disputed this and since liability wasn’t admitted, we took steps to issue court proceedings.

Her employer’s insurance company made an offer of £1500 which was rejected; Karen’s injuries would take a year to heal and she would need physiotherapy and would incur loss of earnings.

Just prior to the trial for Karen’s case, an offer was put forward of £14,500 which was accepted. The case was then settled as a result with the defendants paying ten times what they were willing to consider before court proceedings were issued! Karen’s settlement has given her the funds to cover treatment and any loss of work due to her injury.

Slips, trips and falls account for almost 30% of workplace injuries in the UK every year. A lot of these injuries can be prevented with proper warning signs and workplace hazard identification. If you have been injured at work and would like to start a claim, we can help. Give us a call on 0800 954 0243.

Damien Gill
Senior Associate, Irvings Law