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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To sue Royal Mail?

93 replies

SickofThomasTheTank · 10/05/2018 15:59

Just a quick one...

Yesterday whilst coming out of Sorting Office, I managed to trip on/in a small-ish Pot hole in the Sorting Office Car Park. Turns out my ankle is broken. I'll be in a cast for 4-6 weeks.

As a lone parent, living in a 3 storey house this has caused huge upheaval. We've had to come stay with my Mum who lives in a bungalow. Not ideal and a huge break in routine for my possibly-autistic 3yr old.

So AIBU to take it down the Legal Route against Royal Mail?

I contacted the County Council at first as I assumed it would be down to them. However they swiftly informed me that due to this being within Royal Mail's 'enclosure' that it is firmly under their jurisdiction....

Please be nice, I am asking not assuming!

Thanks

OP posts:

19lottie82 · 10/05/2018 16:03

I’d say the council was right, as it’s private land belonging to Royal Mail.

Give a no win no fee solicitor a call, what have you got to lose?

wellBeehivedWoman · 10/05/2018 16:05

It's at least worth getting a PI lawyer's opinion on. I'm not an expert in this area but you will need need to prove the following:

that the post office had a duty of care towards you (this bit is usually not a problem)
that they breached their DOC
that the accident was reasonably foreseeable
that they could have taken reasonable measures to prevent it and didn't
that their negligence caused you loss.

Reasonable foreseeability is usually the issue - was the pot hole obviously dangerous? Had they don't anything to alert you to it?

A PI solicitor can advise. Bear in mind that the financial restitution isn't going to be high - a couple of thousand at best, unless there are exceptional circumstances. And from that you'll have to pag your lawyer (even if you are awarded expenses these are rarely for the full amount). You'll need to decide if it's worth the headache!

Hope you're healed soon

mellowW · 10/05/2018 16:31

What has you falling over cost you financially?

carefreeeee · 10/05/2018 16:42

Try a no win no fee solicitor. They should advise on whether you have a chance of winning.

If RM are liable you might get loss of earnings plus expenses plus an amount for the ankle. A broken ankle has got to be worth a couple of thousand on its own.

As prev poster says it depends on whether you should have been in the area and whether the pot hole was big enough to have forseeably caused the accident and whether they warned you it was there.

WhatAreYouLookingAt · 10/05/2018 16:43

There a few things that you have to consider first. Most Royal Mail yards have signs up stating that they are for Royal Mail vehicles only so unless they had designated customer parking, your car shouldn't have entered the yard. There is usually a designated walkway which is clearly sign posted. Was the pot hole in a designated walkway? Did you report the accident to someone in the building? Did you walk across an area that you should not have been?

DGRossetti · 10/05/2018 16:44

Did you get a photo (video would have been better) of the scene ?

Just in case the hole has disappeared when your claim hits them, and they just go "what hole ?"

MissionItsPossible · 10/05/2018 16:48

What has you falling over cost you financially?

I was wondering this too. Are you out of work for 4-6 weeks as this wasn't mentioned? Did you have private health care or NHS?

DGRossetti · 10/05/2018 16:50

If this is like our local RM sorting office (where you have to go when collecting parcels) I can easily see an accident happening ...

Daisydewdrops · 10/05/2018 16:53

If you parked in the yard then you may not get anywhere as members of the public are not authorised to park in there.... they usually have a sign up stating this...

GrumpySausage · 10/05/2018 16:54

I had a friends who recently tripped over a kerb in a supermarket car park and ended up with a broken wrist and a smashed tooth. She claimed it was badly lit and juat didn't see it. She mentioned she was going to 'sue' the supermarket and I thought she had no hope- public place, normal kerb so not even a pothole showing signs of neglect. I was then very surprised recently to hear the supermarket had made her an offer after she employed a no win no fee solicitor. I reckon your case would be stronger. And not as cheeky!

Lethaldrizzle · 10/05/2018 16:56

Sorry for the accident but couldn't you have just avoided the pothole

ellie232 · 10/05/2018 16:57

What has been the financial impact on you and how has this come about? This is what you’ll need to prove.

Furano · 10/05/2018 17:03

Why didn't you see the pothole and step over/.around it?

DGRossetti · 10/05/2018 17:05

If you parked in the yard then you may not get anywhere as members of the public are not authorised to park in there.... they usually have a sign up stating this...

You can't escape a statutory duty by putting signs up.

Daisydewdrops · 10/05/2018 17:09

But surely if there were signs up saying that the yard is not open to the public then the op shouldn’t of been in there which makes her liable .... and technically meant she trespassed too

DGRossetti · 10/05/2018 17:13

But surely if there were signs up saying that the yard is not open to the public then the op shouldn’t of been in there which makes her liable .... and technically meant she trespassed too

So ?

In English law, a landowner is responsible for the safety of anyone on their land - trespassing or not. Two wrongs don't make a right in law.

KriticalSoul · 10/05/2018 17:14

I really cant see the OP parking illegally in a carpark she has no business being in.

A lot of rural sorting offices expect you to drive to them to pick parcels up, so of course you're allowed to park in their carparks!

persypear · 10/05/2018 17:15

Just to note - signs that try to deny responsibility are not always legally enforceable. Sometimes they are just there to 'try it on' and deny less knowledgable people their rights under the law.

Ah, as Rosetti says!

sueelleker · 10/05/2018 17:15

Some years ago I was working part-time at Asda, and slipped on a smear of yoghurt left on the floor. I damaged my knee-cap, and got £3000.00 damages from them.

Racecardriver · 10/05/2018 17:16

Well that is the point of your law. Hopefully you will recieve reasonable compensation and both parties will learn an important lesson about maintaining customer spaces and watching where you are walking.

ladybee28 · 10/05/2018 17:16

Sorry for the accident but couldn't you have just avoided the pothole

Why didn't you see the pothole and step over/.around it?

Do you think she threw herself on the ground on purpose or something?

Why didn't YOU two see the pothole and warn her?!

FromageAffray · 10/05/2018 17:22

What jurisdiction in the UK are you in, OP? This will have an effect on the fees you pay if the claim is successful, so you may need to consider that. If the sorting office is open to the public, there is a duty of care to provide a safe means of access/egress, which includes inspecting and maintaining surfaces. You ought to be entitled to damages for personal injury (general damages) and any out of pocket expenses which you will need to vouch (special damages). As already suggested, if you can photograph the pothole, preferably with a ruler in situ or some other means of showing the dimensions of the defect, that would be helpful. Good luck.

megafatCEObaby · 10/05/2018 17:24

Sorry for the accident but couldn't you have just avoided the pothole
Why didn't you see the pothole and step over/.around it?

Do you also ask people why they didn't just not get ran over by the bus too? And why they didn't see it? Haha

changemyname1 · 10/05/2018 17:30

Do you think she threw herself on the ground on purpose or something

OP may not have but plenty do try it on though.

Hadalifeonce · 10/05/2018 17:38

You don't necessarily need to involve solicitors. I had an accident once due to badly maintained grounds. I wrote to the owners telling them what happened. and that I was unable to work or drive, and would be expecting any losses to be paid by them. They immediately put it into the hands of their insurers, and was eventually compensated.

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