Personal Injury on a train

[weekatiepea]

Yesterday I sustained two cracked ribs caused by a falling suitcase on a train. The suitcase had been inappropriately placed in the overhead luggage racks - it was too large and too heavy for the rack.

What is my best course of action now? Is the train company liable or the person with the suitcase?

I would say the owner of the suitcase, unless a staff member stowed it away for them.

Did you get their details?

The conductor on the train got their details. I think I might start by phoning the train company.

but it's not the fault of the train company that someone stowed a heavy bag in a rack not designed for it.

Can't you just forget it? Generally speaking cracked ribs aren't that serious and you would have to prove that you lost out financially in some way. Will you lose wages because of time off work?

My husband broke his rib opening a train door once. Accidents happen.

I can't believe your first thought is compensation Some things are just accidents, I once tripped falling off a train and it never even occurred to me to claim anything. Someone helped me up and I went on my way. I bruised my knee and injured my pride but so what?

• tripped getting off the train, not falling off the train.

There is no limit on suitcases on racks . If it was a busy train then the other passenger was probably under pressure to stow it up there. It was an accident.

Did the accident cause you to lose money? If so, you can claim but I can't imagine it'll be enough to be worth your time. If not then tough shit, accidents happen.

This kind of thing is what pisses me off royally about our compensation culture - its always got to be someone else's fault. No-one can just have an accident anymore - someone, somewhere has to be blamed. OP, its just one of those things. OK, its going to be a bit uncomfortable for a while, but other than that it will be fine. Suck it up and move on.

I really can't understand this perception that it's somehow bad taste to claim compensation when you've been injured as a result of someone else's negligence. Broken ribs are incredibly painful, potentially dangerous, and certainly can keep you off work. Even if you don't lose money, you are entitled to damages for pain and suffering. This isn't "just an accident": it's an accident caused by the fact that someone else did something that was both stupid and avoidable.

Napoleons, LIZS, Scrambled: at one point would you think it would be justifiable to claim compensation? If this suitcase had fallen in such a way that the broken rib penetrated OP's lung and threatened her life, or if OP had a fractured skull, or a cracked vertebra, or a severed spinal cord, would you still think she should suck it up?

She didn't suffer from a fractured skull etc etc though, Icimoi so that's irrelevant.

I hate the compensation culture we seem to be heading towards rapidly.

I get about five calls a day currently, with companies trying to get me to claim compensation for a car accident I had. I asume they get commission. All I have to do is say I got 'a bit of whiplash' apparently. It's bloody immoral.

But Icimoi you can't just claim because you suffered an injury. The OP hasn't said that they had to take any time off work or in any way lost out financially. That is the criteria for compensation.

None of the injuries you list actually happened did they? If they had a severed spinal cord then there would be grounds for legal action, but they didn't. Hospitals don't even strap up a cracked rib these days. Unless a lung was punctured (it wasn't) then it is a fairly minor injury.

The train company is not liable and it would be almost impossible to find a random owner of a random suitcase.

The OP should chalk it up to experience and move on.

The op said that the train conductor got the suitcase owner's details.

It is possible to get compensation for pain and suffering if there is no financial loss, but the levels are generally not high for fairly minor injuries.

You might struggle with assigning who is liable but you should at least go and speak to a solicitor. Good luck

Fireside, I didn't say that the OP could claim just because she suffered an injury; I said that she could claim if she suffered an injury which was caused by someone's negligence (and, of course, if she can prove that). However, it certainly is perfectly possible to claim for damages for pain and suffering on their own, even without having suffered any other financial loss.

Bowlers arm, of course it's immoral to try to persuade people to bring stupid claims for non-existent injuries. However, the OP's injury is entirely real.

Wow, I had actually forgotten to check back for replies on this after the first few, how do people get off being so unkind to a complete stranger online without knowing all the facts first. Thank you so much Icimoi for your voice of reason.

I am NOT out to make a shed load on a compensation claim like some of you seem to think I am. I have suffered a very painful injury which has caused a lot of distress and suffering not to mention the number of things I have missed because of it, social occasions and running events. Also, I am moving house this week and have been unable to do any packing so are now paying a packer to come and do it. I was also off work for 2 weeks although I'm covered by sick pay but it doesn't look good for my record. Also we are out of pocket by a tank of petrol since my husband had to drive two hours south to pick me up from hospital.

Oh and finally I should mention that the suitcase that fell was enormous and entirely unsuitable for an overhead luggage rack. So this is all because of someone's stupidity, not just a blameless accident.