Had a accident and need advise

[Onedancewontdo]

I went to vote during the mayoral election in May. As I was leaving a very dimly lit polling station there was a small step. As the carpet was black I couldn’t see the step and fell. I broke my wrist and elbow on my right arm suffered a grade 3 sprain in my left ankle and had a bad injury to my right knee.no one who was a official at the polling station approached me or offered to help luckily I had my dh and ds2 there. I went to the hospital within 5 hours of the accident. I have been in a lot of pain and will be having physio for the at least the next 3 months. When the general election was taking place my dh and ds2 went to vote and noticed that there was a ramp now where I had fallen and the lighting had drastically improved. I have been told my numerous friends I should sue but would you sue a local church ?

It wouldn't be the church that would pay out it would be their insurance company.

Did you take photos at the time? Can you prove where your injuries occurred?

I didn’t take photos as I was in 2 much pain and I have never sued or thought of suing anyone, but the man who was in charge of the polling station approached my husband last week and said how was I and when dh told him about my injuries he told him to sue

It would be the local council I think who would have insurance.

No, I wouldn't. What would you hope to gain? I'd only want to do it to force them to make changes but they've already done that.

This.

I went to vote during the mayoral election in May. As I was leaving a very dimly lit polling station there was a small step. As the carpet was black I couldn’t see the step and fell

It couldn't have been that dark, in May, even if you were the last voter at 10pm, and surely the step was there as you went in to vote, so it wouldn't have been a surprise it was still there when you went out.

no one who was a official at the polling station approached me or offered to help luckily I had my dh and ds2 there. I went to the hospital within 5 hours of the accident.

You had people helping, and presumably at the time were able to walk away (as you didn't go to the hospital for another 5 hours), so I am not sure why you needed additional people or what you wanted them to do ? Had you been on your own, or had you not been able to get up, you would probably have had people react differently.

I am sorry you fell and had an accident, but, as POTC said, what are you hoping to gain? Accidents do happen.

there was a separate entrance and exit and it was very dark as it was exit to hall and you had a corridor to exit which had no windows. I was asking if people agreed with people who told me I should sue not that I was going to sue. But once again on mumsnet people like to try and twist things to make the op out to be a liar. so I won’t be engaging and answering any further questions

I would sue. I would be hoping to gain financial compensation, tbh 🤷

You have no chance of suing if you have no proof your injury occurred there/ no proof of the state of the exit at the time of injury.

It wouldn't occur to me to try to squeeze cash out of something from me being clumsy

I would ask the church for their Liability insurance details. Regardless of what time of day it is and what the premises were being used for, they have a duty of care to ensure that the premises are safe. Bad lighting, and lack of signage warning people of steps in badly lit areas, is an accident waiting to happen. If you’ve been injured due to their bad management of the premises, that’s on them. Don’t feel bad about claiming against a church, that’s what their insurance is for.
Edited to say: it will help massively if you’ve got photographs of the area you fell in.

I was a poll clerk in May and our station had an entrance and a different exit. I am sorry you had an accident.

Yes you could sue. In my poll station at a village hall you would sue the local authority. In the case of a church you would need to sue the church and they will contact their public liability insurer and go from there.

It won't be easy as it sounds like you have no photographs at the scene or independent witnesses to the accident ? Unless the poll officers SAW you fall ? Other voters who could vouch for you. ?

Your likely compensation will depend on factors like 'loss of earnings' (are you earning ? Did you lose income as a direct result of the accident ?) and of course a sum for 'pain and suffering'

How you go about it is another question. Standard 'no win no fee' can give you an idea if your claim is likely to succeed - as people forget - no win no fee also means 'if you win we take a huge fee' and no lawyer would take on a case they are unlikely to earn from.

Your other option is a traditional personal injury lawyer who you pay to do the work for you and keep vast majority if not all of your compensation . You 'should' get an honest evaluation of the merits of your case and approximate costs at an initial consultation. The cost of which would be approx £200 outside London and up to £300 in London before deciding to go forward.

No, if it was dimly lit I'd be be careful, if necessary slowly feeling out my steps to make sure I had sure footing. I wouldn't run headlong into the pitch black and then demand someone compensates me when I hurt myself. Sorry, but if you consider yourself a capable adult you need to take some responsibility for your actions. Obviously you need to be careful if you're not familiar with your surroundings and you can't see the way.

If I'd lost money through taking time off work or having to cancel plans, or if I thought there was a chance I'd need to pay for private treatment in future, then yes I would.

I might consider it if I was literally on the bones of my arse, and in massive amounts of debt.
Otherwise it's just hassle and stress to go through the legal route. It could be time consuming and you may not get what you want. It's also slightly morally questionable. Though on the other hand, they must have known there was a safety issue with the step, hence why they changed to a ramp etc.
I'd think twice before sueing anyone tbh. But if it was me I'd rather sue a church than the council as we pay for the council!

How many other people fell? If you were the only one then I don't think you'd stand much chance especially as you had already walked into the building so would have seen there was a step.

It's just a frightful accident.