I flew down the emergency steps of a coach backwards....

[IronWoman]

...and broke every bone from mid to hind foot.

It was a uni trip to a gallery and I was sitting opposite the exit after going to the loo at the back of the coach and waited briefly for my friend to swap seats as she was feeling sick near the window.

The coach swerved slightly and I literally flew down the stairs with my right foot taking my full body weight. The pain was incredible and i knew it was broken.

Luckily we were near to a hospital off the M25 so the coach drove me to A&E (whilst i screamed). I was kept in overnight because of the amount of shattering and spent the last fortnight with my Dad as he has a downstairs loo and i live in a townhouse.

I unable to weight bear for 3 months and in a lot of pain.

I've tripped twice since the fall whilst on crutches (once when i went back to uni for the first time as the floor going into the disabled access is shiny and slippy) and had more x-rays to check the shattered pieces hadn't moved away from the bones.

I am in my last year at uni and have had to apply for mitigating circumstances for my units as the pain is very bad and i am unable to focus on my subject (which will have to change as i cannot easily get out to London to carry out my interviews for my work).

I understand that emergency exits have no safety barriers up but if i had gone down sideways or head first I may not be here to tell the story.

I was wondering if anyone else has had an accident on a coach similar to this? Surely this needs to be bought to the attention of coach passengers? Especially parents of little people?

How would you go about this if it were you please?

[Stillunexpected]

Should you have been walking around when the coach was moving at speed? I'm not having a go, just genuinely asking. As far as small children are concerned, on any school trips I have accompanied children are always strapped in with seat belts and as adult supervisors we wouldn't allow them to move out of their seats during travel.

[Spam88]

Sounds awful :( but generally people should be wearing seat belts whilst a coach is moving so I don't really think this is a situation that would occur often.

[crashdoll]

I'm sorry this happened to you and I wish you a speedy recovery. That said, I don't think there's anything you can do as it was an unfortunate accident and possibly, you shouldn't have been walking around.

[DollyPlastic]

Sounds awful for you but unfortunately if you were out of your seat then you're going to be at risk of an accident on a moving coach.

[sortthetacheoutbernard]

If you wanted to pursue this you could write to your MP and first research whether anyone else had similar.

Get well soon. It sounds horrible

[Toffeelatteplease]

Have you had any Physio since? I suspect you may need some especially if you find you are repeatedly reinjuring the area.

Did the coach have seat belts? Were you standing or sitting at the time?

[IronWoman]

I was standing as had just used the loo at the back of the coach. Previous ti that, i had my seat belt on.

I will apparently have intensive physio when i can weight bear again.

[Toffeelatteplease]

Did your Dr give you an indication of recovery time? I'd be checking out you don't need Physio help to get you to the point of weight bearing and to ask (assuming you are out of cast) what non weight bearing exercise you can do to counteract muscle wastage

[IronWoman]

Toffee, the consultants have all said it could take up to a year to recover and even then i may not be able to use my foot properly and will always walk with a limp.
My muscles have already wasted which isn't helped by the tear in the long plantar ligament, so the back of my shin looks like a bingo wing hanging down.
I may possibly have broken my shin although this has not been x-rayed but i have a hard lump between my knee and my ankle. I will need to get this checked out at some point.
I have a cast that can be removed but i cannot move about or sleep without it on. They won't give me any exercises yet as it's only been 3 weeks and the bruising is still there, though not as bad as it was - it was black and red.
I've basically made a mess of it.

[coolaschmoola]

Sorry you got hurt. I'm not sure it needs bringing to people's attention - most people are aware of the possibility of falling whilst standing on a moving vehicle, particularly when adjacent to a bloody big, and obvious, steep hole!

[BusterGonad]

I have to agree with the others. You took the risk of going to the toilet while the coach was moving, it is really shit but you were very unlucky. I do not see the point of kicking up a stink for a problem which was, as harsh as it sounds, of your own making.

[Sirzy]

Sounds awful but like others have said that's the risk you take when you walk on a moving vehicle.

Don't look for blame, just focus on recovering

[VivienneWestwoodsKnickers]

Have you contacted the coach company to get their insurance details? You should be able to make a personal injury claim on that. Money won't make it better, but it may help a little with university debt.

Also, contact the company and ask what they are doing about customer safety following this incident. I would expect them to have five an internal investigation, including checking of any on board CCTV and any safety briefing given by the driver.

Just because people "should know" the risks doesn't make it ok when someone is injured.

[Sirzy]

A safety briefing for a coach full of adults? Seriously!? Are we really in a situation where adults can take so little responsibility for themselves we need to tell them how to behave on a coach?

It was an accident. Accidents happen.

[VivienneWestwoodsKnickers]

You've never been on a coach and heard the driver remind everyone to wear seatbelts, describe the next few stops and time of arrival at the destination etc? It's happened on every coach journey I've been on in the last decade.

[VivienneWestwoodsKnickers]

Just checked the National Express, they play a safety briefing on CD/DVD.

[Sirzy]

Time if arrival is one thing. Reminding adults that standing on a coach is bonkers and shows how little responsibility some people take for themselves that that is expected!

[VivienneWestwoodsKnickers]

So they should stop safety briefings on planes too? How about reminding people to mind the gap on the underground? Vehicle reversing sounds on lorries?

Sometimes a little reminder or warning of risk prevents injury. But not always.

[DoItTooJulia]

That sounds bloody awful-you poor thing.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I've had a similar injury, it's awful ,isn't it?

I think it's just one of those awful , horrible accidents which is no one's fault. Did the driver point out safety issues before setting off?

[IronWoman]

Our tutor on the coach announced that it was recommended we put our seatbelts on but it was not compulsory. I put mine on, however we weren't told not to get up to use the toilet.

I have a medical condition which means I need the toilet regularly, so i went.

DameDiazapam, how long did your injury take to heal?

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

It's been a long hard slog to be perfectly honest but I broke both ankles which slowed my recovery down a lot. The most important thing is to have good physio,sports ones are the best ime.

[crashdoll]

I'm so sorry to hear of the extent of your injury, I wish you well.