To sue Royal Mail?

[SickofThomasTheTank]

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

You don’t need a ‘financial loss’ you can quantify the claim with reference to your pain and suffering and also sums to compensate your mother for anything she is doing for you that you can’t do for yourself, (at rates lower than you would be charged by commercial providers.)

Seems a bit grabby, this sort of thing is why the price of stamps keeps going up so quickly.

So many people are defending the post office. If you have a pothole then fix it. If an elderly person had fallen they could be looking at a lot worse than a broken ankle.

Seems a bit grabby, this sort of thing is why the price of stamps keeps going up so quickly.

Or...in line with inflation

Definitely worth a visit to an insurer. The PO owe a duty of care even to trespassers (ie if the OP should not have been in that place) and if the pothole was big enough for her to fall in and break her ankle then they should have identified it.

I think she has a very decent chance of a claim. The PO insurers will settle it.

So many people are defending the post office. If you have a pothole then fix it. If an elderly person had fallen they could be looking at a lot worse than a broken ankle.

The difference is an elderly person would have got sympathy instead of being accused of being grabby.

Sorry visit to a solicitor not insurer!

Not a big fan of the sue sue sue culture

Urgh. You can probably get something out of them. But it doesn't sit right with me. Take some personal responsibility for looking where you are going! The whole world isn't perfectly flat surfaces.

What would you be suing for? Loss of earnings, trip to the hospital, use of a private carer?

I used to work in claims and your mum could probably get money for having to care for you at an hourly rate and for any physio should you need it for your ankle after it is healed. Loss of earnings too if you work.
I'm assuming you used the NHS so you won't have anything to claim there.

There is of course the 'pain and suffering' element too, but I'm not sure how much is the going rate for that in pothole claims unfortunately, I used to work in road traffic accidents.

It's the customer car park. And it's cost me a great deal!

Have you got legal insurance on your home insurance (or maybe through car insurance or union membership or other means)?

Worth checking if you have - people often forget and then pay to get the same advice - and using them, at least initially, for advice...

annoyed I'm completely with you. Its never a sodding accident anymore, its always someone else's fault.

If you worked in PI, megafat, you'd know damn well that all injuries are valued the same way (a combination of JSB and case law), regardless of whether they're caused in a crash or by tripping on a pothole!

I'd definitely contact a law firm; if the RM has breached their duty then you should be on the way to receiving compensation (in a nutshell).

I'm not a grabby person but this has lost me a LOT. I won't go into detail, and this is not the ONLY thing I've lost, but a holiday that is non transferable or refundable that has been paid in full is now out of the question. Amongst other things. My existing disabilities are also suffering as a result. The arthritis in my knees - particularly on the unbroken side is struggling to compensate. I have a huge boot on (couldn't have non-weight bearing plaster cast for several reasons) and my arthritis is making it very difficult to lift the boot as well as my leg. It's going to be an awful 6 weeks.

I didn't see the Pot Hole as I don't walk with my head down! I put trust into Royal Mail that their surfaces were safe!

@Psychobabble123 it actually IS someone else's fault where potholes are concerned, just like with cars too. That's what insurance is for.

Bloody Hell. litigation society strikes again

Put your claim in. The lawyer you (numerous commission for each) will put a claim in RM will pay out very probably a minimum of £1k. Be prepared to recall right down to shoes you were wearing, in a rush, lighting etc

Again, with potholes I wouldn't dream of trying to get compensation. Its just one of those things to me.

My child has also been plucked out of her home and is having to be cared for 80% of the time by her 73yr old grandmother who can't keep up and is already shattered, only 24 hours later. The remaining 20% is me grinding my teeth through the pain, to give my Mum a break. There is every chance my daughter will have to go into temporary care.

This isn't me being a chancer...

@FranticallyPeaceful I've already mentioned I'm disabled. Nice bit of disablism there love 👍

Lol @NoWordForFluffy, I actually forgot, but now you mention JSB I am quite . I only ever scanned it to look what I was looking for, which was often just soft tissue but sometimes I dealt with psych, broken legs or things like tinnitus on more complex cases. I've not worked in PI for 4 years, so I forgot. We used to use Colossus to value nearly all claims not JSB and caselaw unless it was needed- which wasn't often.

(if it was higher value it went to case managers)