Fall at major sports stadium

B

brookied

Registered User
Messages
13
hi guys,
Few weeks back I took a fall at a sports stadium, it was raining and I came from a dry area into to wet and slipped in standing water. Thought I sprained my thumb / wrist painful but was ok.
No Marshall around, no signage to advise that floor could be slippery or take caution wet wet.
Had a chat with a Marshall who took details, did not offer first aid apor advise where the post was... I followed up with email next morning to stadium, no reply.

Forward just over a week, pain in right hand is bad and turns out I got a fracture and torn ligament in right hand. Surgery needed and now out of work 4 weeks.

Follow up email to stadium update on status and see if they got the first email as got nothing back.

I get a reply saying sorry, first email was missed, also from head of safety that marshals not on duty during half time and they don't use caution signs to advise when floor is wet from rain.

Do I have grounds for personal injury claim..

I had ligament repair done, and will be on going for min of 3 months. Expected to regain 80% use of thumb back..


Cheers
 
So let me get this right, it was raining but you're claiming that because there was no sign up you didn't realise the ground might be wet or that a wet floor might be slippery? Gone be with the days when people took responsibility for their own actions...
 
Ceist Beag said:
So let me get this right, it was raining but you're claiming that because there was no sign up you didn't realise the ground might be wet or that a wet floor might be slippery? Gone be with the days when people took responsibility for their own actions...
Click to expand...

As I was reading the first post, I started drafting a reply. But I could not have articulated it as well as you did Ceist Beag.

brookied - if you do decide to sue, why not sue them for getting wet as well? Did they not have notices up "Notice - when it rains people get wet"? Outrageous that they don't have such signs.


Brendan
 
you can indeed argue that this was the OP's own fault but there is also some other factors to take into account
  • Failure of the venue to have staff mopping up water on a wet day.
  • Failure of the venue to offer appropriate first aid and support on the day
  • Given the tone of the mail, you have to wonder if the venue had complied with it's statutory obligations around event management, especially it's failure to have stewards on hand at half time. Also wonder if they have reported the accident to the HSA, certainly if one of their employees fell over, they would be obliged to do so
  • Is there an inheirant fault with the design of the stadium to say that water collects in a particular place and is it poorly maintained?

Whilst I detest the compensation culture as much as the next person, it's not always as simple as saying "it's your own fault" in the same way as it's not always as simple as saying "it's the venue fault". Quite possible a judge could make an award but reduce it if it is felt the OP was partially to blame
 
brookied said:
I had ligament repair done, and will be on going for min of 3 months. Expected to regain 80% use of thumb back..


Cheers
Click to expand...

You saying you expect to lose 20% usage of your thumb, I would imagine you won't know that until you are healed.
 
Other ideas for the OP:
a) wear appropriate footwear for Irish weather conditions
b) look where you are going. Any time I am in a stadium, I spend more time looking at my feet when moving around than anything else...
 
thedaddyman said:
Quite possible a judge could make an award but reduce it if it is felt the OP was partially to blame
Click to expand...
But even if there is no award, the claim has cost God knows how many thousands to get into court before a judge.

This kind of claim / injury is exactly what the Injuries Board was established to look after in order to avoid legal costs and spiralling insurance costs. See Here. I'm amazed and a bit disappointed that no-one on AAM has suggested checking out this web-site first under headings like:

Have I a Claim?
What's My Settlement Likely To Be?
How Do I Proceed?

I'm not supporting or criticising the so-called "compo culture" but venues do have a duty of care for their patrons and this seems like the simplest and least costly means for the OP to check out his case.

HTH
 
Hi mathepac

The Injuries Board purpose is not to assess liability. It is simply to assess the level of compensation.

I have no doubt that the OP has suffered an injury. The main issue is whether the stadium owner is liable or not. I don't think that they have from what he has said.

Brendan
 
Hi guys, just wanted to clarify a couple points,

1) footwear I had on were perfect, infact I use them running around Dublin 3times a week on different surface wet and dry.
2) I am not sueing the stadium
3) it's just a personal injury claim
 
brookied said:
Hi guys, just wanted to clarify a couple points,

1) footwear I had on were perfect, infact I use them running around Dublin 3times a week on different surface wet and dry.
2) I am not sueing the stadium
3) it's just a personal injury claim
Click to expand...

Who are you sueing then?
 
mathepac said:
But even if there is no award, the claim has cost God knows how many thousands to get into court before a judge.

This kind of claim / injury is exactly what the Injuries Board was established to look after in order to avoid legal costs and spiralling insurance costs. See Here. I'm amazed and a bit disappointed that no-one on AAM has suggested checking out this web-site first under headings like:

Have I a Claim?
What's My Settlement Likely To Be?
How Do I Proceed?

I'm not supporting or criticising the so-called "compo culture" but venues do have a duty of care for their patrons and this seems like the simplest and least costly means for the OP to check out his case.

HTH
Click to expand...
+ 1 on the PIAB, I've been called twice to the High Court as a witness for falls and claims. On both occasions I spent a wasted day sitting around whilst barristers shuffled to and fro hammering out a deal. It never reached a judge but I dread to think what the barristers fees were. In the end, AFAIK, the amount paid was probably not much bigger then what the PIAB pays out for such injuries as both plaintiffs, whilst had legitimate injuries, were milking their losses as a result of such injuries.
 
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