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Trip Slip Fall Accident: Lawyer Explains How To Claim

How to decide if you have a claim for compensation following a trip slip fall accident

"I was out walking my dog close to my home when my left foot caught something on the pavement causing me to trip forward. As I was holding the dog lead with my right hand I instinctively put my left hand out to break my fall as I hit the ground. My left wrist made a cracking sound and immediately swelled up. Thankfully two passers by came to assist me and called an ambulance. Whilst waiting for the ambulance we noticed that a paving stone was sticking up by about 4 centimetres just where I tripped. At hospital I was treated for my trauma and diagnosed with a spiral fracture of my left wrist.

Can I make a claim for compensation for my accident and if so who can I claim against?"

The procedure to decide if you can make a claim for compensation following a trip slip fall accident in England and Wales

Personal injury lawyers classify accidents into several different types, as each type has a different procedure to follow to decide if you have a compensation claim.

The type of trauma you have suffered comes within the name of a "trip slip fall accident".

The steps to take to decide if you have good chances of succeeding in a personal injury claim for a trip slip fall accident are as follows:

1. Identify who was responsible for the maintenance of the pavement where your tripping accident occurred

You have said that you where close to home, so you may know if the pavement was under the control of the council or was private land or an unadopted street.

I suspect it would be a council pavement. In any event a specialist accident solicitor would be able to check this for you by a simple enquiry with the council.

2. Examine the size of hazard on the pavement which put pedestrians' safety at risk and caused your fall

You tripped on a raised pavement that you describe as being approximately 4 centimetres in height. The height of the raised pavement is essential to you claim, so I recommend if you can that you, some family members or friends attend at the accident scene and take photos -- if at all possible the photos should have a ruler or other measuring device clearly shown indicating the exact height.

3. Consider the severity of your personal injury

If your personal injury is worth over £1000 you can rest assured that, should you decide to use a personal injury solicitor to make your claim, you will be able to recover your legal costs as in addition to your compensation.

A spiral fracture of the wrist is worth well over £1000.

4. Contact a specialist accident solicitor as soon as possible to start your compensation claim

You have three years following a trip slip or fall accident to start a claim before it is legally to late, but for this type of accident claim it is essential that your solicitor acts immediately to gather all the evidence necessary to win your claim.

This will include taking witness statements whilst you accident is fresh in their mind, attending at the scene of your trauma to inspect and photograph the defect and interview local residents to see if any previous complaints have been made to the council about safety concerns with the pavement.

Follow this link to find out how to make a trip and slip fall accident claim
Follow this link for more information on making any type of accident claim for compensation in the UK Accident Claim Solicitor UK