CWU member brought down by WC tripping hazard receives £5K

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CWU member brought down by WC tripping hazard receives £5K compensation

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With Simpson Millar's help, a CWU member has received damages for a workplace injury despite the defendant's persistent denial of liability.



On the CWU union's instruction, we wrote to the Royal Mail to say that in October 2008, our client was leaving the men's WC at Windlesham SPDO when he tripped over a cardboard box which had been discarded on the floor.

Since the light in the lavatory was not working, the small room was too dark for him to see the obstruction.

We alleged that Royal Mail, as the worker's employer, was responsible for our client's injury in that it had failed in its duty to provide a suitable and safe place of work.

The defendant had breached Health and Safety legislation on a number of counts, including allowing an object to remain on the floor when it was a tripping hazard, failure to maintain the workplace and keep equipment in an efficient state, and failure to ensure that lavatories were kept clean.

Although we only received the file of papers shortly before expiry of the limitation period, we were able to protect our client's position by issuing protective proceedings. We were also able to agree settlement, which finally closed at £5,000 compensation, despite the defendant firmly denying liability throughout the legal process.

The fall caused our client to suffer a soft tissue injury to his back and he remains in some pain. He was also forced to take several weeks off work at various intervals between October 2008 and October 2010.