£27,000 in Compensation for a Woman Injured in a Slipping Accident at a Holiday Park

Truth Legal’s personal injury team managed to secure £27,000 for a lady who badly injured her shoulder. She had slipped on a wet bathroom floor whilst staying at a holiday park, a hazard which the park should have done more to diminish.

A ruined holiday

Sophie* had only just begun her holiday when the accident happened. She had been looking forward to a week by the sea with her husband, daughter and grandchildren, staying in a bungalow at a holiday park.

On the first night, Sophie took a shower before going to bed. As she stepped out of the shower, which was over the bath, her foot slipped on the wet floor and she fell. Instinctively, she reached out to stop herself.  Her right arm caught on the sink beside the bath, which slowed her fall but badly jarred her right shoulder.

Sophie’s daughter came to help her and reported the accident to the park.

At first Sophie and her daughter thought she had only suffered bruising. The next morning, however, Sophie was still in a lot of pain and so her daughter took her to A&E.

The hospital took x-rays of Sophie’s shoulder, but it was believed to be soft-tissue damage. They gave her a shoulder strap and told her to rest it. Sophie was unable to enjoy the rest of the holiday because of the pain and her immobilised arm.

When she got home, she found a letter from the hospital saying that actually the x-rays had showed a fracture to her right shoulder.

In the months that followed, Sophie had extensive physiotherapy treatment and underwent keyhole surgery to repair the tendons and ligaments in her shoulder. She continued to suffer pain and restriction in her shoulder even after these treatments.

Truth Legal takes on her case

It was over 6 months after the accident before Sophie considered taking legal action. Her ongoing injury, and her desire to avoid the same thing happening to other people, led her to contact Truth Legal’s personal injury solicitors for advice.

Catherine Reynolds, Truth Legal’s Head of Personal Injury, assisted Sophie with her claim. The success of the case hinged upon whether the holiday park was legally responsible for Sophie’s injury.

The park had not provided any bath mats to Sophie and her family, and the bathroom floor had become very slippery with water from the shower. However, this in itself would not make them liable for Sophie’s injuries. They might only be considered liable if it could be shown that they had known (or should have known) of the risks that guests faced, but failed to take reasonable action to guard against them.

As it happened, the park admitted liability for Sophie’s injuries. It later emerged that there had been another bathroom slipping accident a few months before Sophie’s, causing the injured person to go to hospital.

Surprisingly, however, the park’s legal representatives tried to withdraw their admission of liability. Catherine succeeded in disputing this with them and they agreed to let the earlier admission stand.

Catherine then arranged for independent medical evidence on the extent of Sophie’s injuries, and gathered details of the other losses which Sophie had incurred due to the accident.

Compensation for her ordeal

Sophie’s claim sought compensation for the injury to her shoulder – the pain and suffering it had caused, but also the effect it had had on her quality of life.

In addition, there were other ‘losses’ she had experienced as a result of the accident, which she included in her claim. The most significant ones were:

• Care and assistance which Sophie had received from her niece after the accident, and after her surgery. Before the accident, Sophie had been her husband’s carer and so her niece also had to take over this role whilst Sophie was restricted by her injuries. Our blog on claiming care and assistance after a personal injury has more information on this kind of compensation.
• The costs of future surgery. The independent medical expert who wrote a report on Sophie’s injuries recommended that she undergo a further operation to repair her rotator cuff.
• Future care and assistance, anticipated to be needed after the additional surgery.
• Fees for a private consultation that Sophie had attended, including the travel expenses and parking charges.

With all these aspects included, Catherine managed to secure Sophie £27,000 in compensation.

Could Truth Legal help you?

If you have been injured in a slip or trip, and someone else was at fault, you may be entitled to compensation. Even if you are unsure, you can always get in touch with Truth Legal for advice on your situation.

Contact us today for a chat about your circumstances, at no cost, and with no obligation to proceed further.

*All names have been changed to maintain the confidentiality of our client.