£8,500 compensation for a trip and fall on a drain cover

Compensation of £8,500 was awarded to a 35 year-old woman who sustained ligament damage to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) following a trip and fall outside a school.

See also:

Ligament damage compensation claims

Oldham personal injury solicitors

Circumstances of the accident

The claimant, aged 32 at the time of the incident, tripped on a metal drain outside a school. The defendant was the borough council responsible for maintenance of the drains.

The claimant experienced a sharp pain in her knee, and sought immediate hospital treatment.

Injury details

Upon arrival, the medics attending to the claimant noticed the appearance of lacerations on the surface of her knee. She had also suffered cuts and grazing on the parts of her body that hit the ground as she fell.

The area around her knee was very tender and a program of physiotherapy was recommended to reduce her pain and increase mobility in the affected region.

Almost a year later an assessment of her condition revealed that she had in fact torn her anterior cruciate ligament and a further round of physiotherapy was required to strengthen and repair the relevant tissue.

However, the injury continued to cause her distress and interfered with the performance of day-to-day activities.

Prior to the incident the claimant was a keen athlete and enjoyed horse riding. The injury prevented her from exercising on a regular basis and from playing with her children, as the physical exertion involved in running proved too painful a task.

Her lifestyle was disrupted by her inability to drive for an extended period and she often had trouble sleeping, as the pain in her knee would cause her to wake up during the night.

Upon further assessment of her injuries a year after the initial accident, there remained prevalent scarring on her knee around the anterior cruciate ligament, and it was apparent that the muscular strength of her knee had lessened as a direct result of her injury.

The prognosis was that while her condition would improve over time, she would never fully recover the same freedom of movement in the knee that she had before the accident.

Award

The matter progressed to a court hearing at Oldham County Court. A total of £8,500 was awarded to the claimant in general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity.

Disclaimer

Case studies are for informational purposes only and aim to help prospective claimants understand the injury claim process. They are based on cases handled by Quittance panel solicitors or sourced from public court records.

Author:
Gaynor Haliday, Legal researcher

About the author

Gaynor Haliday is an experienced legal researcher and published author. She has had numerous articles published in the press and is a legal industry commentator.