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

No excuse needed. It was pretty clear

I would OP. And it might mean the pothole gets fixed and stops it happening again. I'm an ex RM employee, I'm pretty sure their property services are outsourced, so they'd likely claim it back as part of their contract.

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

But not in the same way. They have a different expected duty of care for people who are reasonably expected to be on their land compared to those who are not.

Well you've certainly got the overdramatic language down. It sounds like you won't be changing your mind so go ahead, claim, you'll probably get some money off them. I wouldn't want you anywhere near my property! You should look where you're going- especially if you already have mobility issues.
Having said that I broke a bone in my garden- shame I couldn't sue myself, eh?

Sorry you are going through this. I have just come out of plaster after 11 weeks and have been using a knee scooter - could this be an option for you? It made getting around a lot easier

Did you not have travel insurance for the holiday?

depends if the RM lease the property and car park from a letting body who could be responsible for such maintainance

@annoyedofnorwich So I ask a question and I'm over dramatic? You clearly have a husband and bundles of friends but I don't! Thanks to my ex. I have nobody to help me but my elderly mother. Nothing over dramatic about it live!

Claim on your travel insurance for the holiday.

Hope time passes quickly and you feel better soon. This type of thing always worries me. I run own company and couldn't drive to the office in this situation and my company would suffer

Hope you get it sorted

Too many people get on their high horses about “compensation culture”. When a person is injured they often suffer financial loss. If another party is legally liable then why should the injured person not be reimbursed their losses? The law doesn’t provide for a windfall; it’s up to the lawyers and insurers to ensure that it is applied correctly so that the injured person does not end up with compensation that exceeds their actual losses.

OP stay away from dodgy claims companies but if you have truly lost out financially then you should have a reasonable prospect of recovering something. My advice would be do not over-egg it though, use reasonable, moderated language and be sensible and polite in your dealings with the RM’s representatives.

Oh god, megafat, Colossus valuations are dire! I know some insurers are moving away from matrix etc valuations and going back to doing it all for scratch, regardless of the injury value / type.

OP do you have a photograph of the pot hole which caused you to fall? That will be crucial. If not, as it was only yesterday, if you could obtain a photograph that would be helpful but I can see the logistical difficulties for you. The court in due course will look at whether or not RM took reasonable measures to show that their premises were reasonably safe. Not every pot hole will prevent the premises being reasonably safe. It depends on how big or deep it is, and where it is located etc. This will be harder to prove without any photographic evidence.

Whether or not they took reasonable measures to prevent pot holes etc is out of your hands so I wouldn’t worry about that for now.

Did you report the accident to Royal Mail? If not, do so urgently and explain how it happened. They should make an entry in their accident book.

Make an appointment with a no win no fee solicitor for further advice. If they think you have a claim they will advise you further. In principle, tripping over a pot hole can amount to a good claim depending on the circumstances so it is worth getting proper advice.

I would say absolutely contact a no win no fee solicitor. The lack of maintenance in the car park is not your fault. You have suffered an injury due to nothing you did. Personal injury compensation is to help put you back into the position (financially) you would have been had it not been for the accident. Make sure to keep any receipts for things like extra paid child care etc that you've required during this period to pass to a solicitor.

Thankyou x

100% do OP. My mums friend broke her ankle on a council pothole - cost her a great deal financially and they made her an offer of (substantial) compensation. I would consult a no wun no fee lawyer if you have no luck with rm themselves

OP, I wouldn't say you weren't looking down because you trust Royal Mail to maintain the roads... that could be argued to evidence contributory negligence on your part.

Your language is over dramatic. "Plucked from her home" is an example. Do what you like, "love", but the blame/claim culture disgusts me. And your excuse for not seeing the pothole? Just look in future. Or don't, as you can make a bit of cash from it.

Absolutely you should claim. Unfortunately many companies will only fix things like this when it costs them money. I almost amputated my arm when I was 18 - unfortunately it happened in my Mum’s house so no suing for me! If the same infudt had happened (due to broken fixtures) at university or in a company’s bathroom I would absolutely have claimed.

OP It sounds like a horribly stressful time for you, but I am confused that posting here about whether to claim is your priority right now, when you say your dd is likely to be going into foster care due to you being unable to care for her? A claim will take ages, I don't know why it is your first thought

Accidents happen. Hate this sue culture. YABU to go grabbing for money.

The question is how have you sufferer financially? Have you not been able to work? Are you self employed!

If you fell over getting out of bed your children would still have been 'plucked' from their home. That is just inconvenience i'm afraid.

You need to claim on your travel insurance regarding your holiday. Did you have insurance?

Why are people being such cunts? Accidents happen, I tipped a boiling hot pan of water over my foot once gaining second degree burns BY ACCIDENT, wouldn't I love to go back in time and just not do it.

They should make sure anywhere pedestrians will use is safe. Its not your fault their car park is dangerous.

Wouldn't the world be so much better if people didn't fall over and break their legs, or crash their cars etc etc. Would you tell a stab victim "well why didn't you just not get stabbed?" fucking idiots.

I spend my working days trying to defend casualty claims or, if that's not possible, limiting what the claimant gets. Whilst I and my colleagues are usually very critical of claimants and their motivations, there are some cases where you think people should claim if they've been hurt. For me this is one of them. OP broke her ankle, this isn't someone with a slightly bruised foot malingering. She's had to move to her mum's fgs!

If you're inviting people onto your property you should make sure it's safe. And potholes you haven't arsed yourself repairing, cordoning off or even marking in some way just isn't acceptable in a public car park. They should have anticipated that people using that car park may be in a rush, distracted or carrying goods which mean they aren't going to able to notice holes in the ground. Yes, accidents happen, but when it could have been prevented with some reasonable precautions then I don't judge anyone that claims.

I really wish you wouldn’t. If too many people do this then they will simply close the car park. Then the inconvience for everyone including single parents will be huge. I totally feel for you but as an overall trend suing causes society to be worse not better in relatively minor cases (different where it’s terribly dangerous/life threatening).