Fall at work

[yellowsparkles]

Hi all looking for some advice.

I'm a teacher and yesterday slipped and fell on ice when walking into work, the car park didn't appear to be gritted (my feet were sliding from the second I got out the car). I got to some grass , by holding on to my car to get there cut across the grass and made my way over to a fire exit which I assumed would be gritted. This leads directly into a classroom and I was going to chap the door till someone heard me and let me in. I slipped and fell on the slabs outside the fire escape. Confession I had stupid pumps on with absolutely no grip but no sign of salt on the ground either. Another member of staff who got out her car at the same time was with me she also went the same route as me. The member of staff with me made her way tentatively to the main entrance to go in and come round to open the fire door. Another member of staff seen me on the ground and helped me up and stayed with me till I got in the building through the fire escape.

I felt my left side achey especially my arm but got on with my day. I teach P1 so it was very busy and not much time to think! By lunch time I couldn't use my left hand to hold the spoon to eat my yoghurt and by the end of the day my left arm was totally limp and useless. I was supposed to be at a course after work and spoke to my HT and told her what happened and if she could get in touch with the person running the course to say I wouldn't be there. She said this was the first she had heard of it and didn't realise I was in pain, I had only seen her briefly in the building before this but like I said I was too busy in my day I didn't realise the pain at the time. I stupidly drove home using my right hand to change the gears as my left arm was useless. In my head I was just thinking I had to get home. DP took me to a and e and I have a radial fracture on my left elbow and I'm in a sling.

I informed my deputy head at the time but cause I was more embarrassed not realising the severity of it we both had a giggle about falling and "hurting my pride" I told the janitor I had fallen as well and he said he had gritted the area. I said I had stupid shoes on and slipped and as previously mentioned I spoke to my head at the end of the day. I didn't fill in any paperwork and wasn't offered any by deputy when I told him at the time or head at the end of the day. By end of the day I wasn't even thinking of forms just the pain in my arm. I have a gp appointment on Friday as a follow up.

DP is wanting me to take this further. I can't drive, can't dress myself and I have a 5 and 2 year old to look after with a very painful arm in a sling. I'm also left handed so basic things are just awkward now! I know it will ease as the days go on. My only concern is our janitor...he has had a lot of things go against him and (although this is staffroom gossip) appears to be on his final warning. Him and his wife stay in a house on the grounds. I'm reluctant to go forward with this as I am worried he will lose his job, lose his house and neither him or his wife are at an age that restarting a career would be possible I don't think.

Can anyone help me legally with what might happen to him if I had to take this further? What the process would be for me/ the school/ the janitor? Am I at fault for having completely inappropriate footwear on? I stay in a different council and work is a 20/25 minute drive away, the ice was much worse there than at my own house.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance for any help x

No advice here just want to say I hope you get better soon!! What a nightmare when you've got little ones at home too.

If nothing else at the moment, make sure the janitor is gritting the grounds from now on!

In what way do you want to take it further, a quiet word with the janitor or compo?

And start wearing snow boots with good grip! Unfortunately, no matter how hard one janitor tries, the ground will be slippy from now until the end of winter.

I think you probably have a case for a payout, people get pay outs for anything and everything, but for me the risk to the janitor would be too much. Having said that, the janitor is responsible for doing his job properly and someone getting injured due to his negligence is pretty serious do I couldn’t blame you for taking action either. It’s really up to you.

I think I’d write it off and blame myself for stupid shoes and not walking carefully enough in icy conditions.

This would come down to whose activities were more reasonable, from a legal POV.

I told the janitor I had fallen as well and he said he had gritted the area. I said I had stupid shoes on

If that's true; it's quite possible that the school had taken reasonable care already by gritting the ground, and therefore met their legal duty.

You were wearing shoes with no grip at all in December; in bad weather. It may have been worse at work, but you may struggle to legally demonstrate that it was reasonable to expect them to be suitable shoes for a winter day.

Nobody could say for certain without all the details, but I suspect this would be a tougher than normal one to win, and you'd have to show financial loss to get a decent amount of compensation.

Whilst I can understand your DP being a bit put out and worried about you; I think he's unreasonable to suggest this is more the schools fault than yours, really. It was one of those things, a bad decision.

You need to speak with a solicitor who specialises in this, are you in a Union, they may help. They may ask why you didn't wear proper outdoor shoes, could you have got in safely through the main door and they will ask the janitor if the area was gritted. I imagine the school will need to fill out an incident form, RIDDOR form and carry out an investigation, is there cctv they can look at. Don't listen to staff room gossip about the janitor, if he is on a warning then that's confidential and shouldn't be talked about by the staff. Sometimes falls are negligence, sometimes they are just accidents that happen. Keep copies of any medical advice, treatment, sicknotes you are given. Have you contacted the Head and told them that you Have a fracture and have they completed the paperwork, hope you recover soon.

Thanks all!

I know my shoes were silly I had looked for boots at the weekend but couldn't find any I liked in my size and had ordered some the day before which ironically will be here today. 🙈 if it was as icy where I lived as what it was at work I would have changed into my trainers and took my flat shoes in a bag. I got 2 children in my car on an untreated driveway that morning at 7:30am - they had wellies on and no issues getting to the car neither did I. Drove to my mums and again a quiet residential street which was untreated but no where near as icy at work so I wasn't expecting it to be so drastically different!

I don't know what I'm looking for to be honest I was just looking for some advice mainly cause I'm mad at myself I've left my class and my colleagues at the worst possible time of the school year - nativity, Christmas fayre, parties etc and just having to rely solely on DP to help me do the most basic of things and with the children while trying to do his own work at the same time. Frustration at my own stupidity and just feeling a bit miffed that I thought I was going the safest way and this happens.

Thanks for all advice I hadn't thought of going forward with anything DP has mentioned it but hasn't in anyway pressured me or anything and when I explained about the janitor situation he hasn't mentioned it again so no pressure or control from him to go forward - he's been nothing but wonderful helping me in every way and I'm not a good patient lol

@cheesywotnots

My head has been lovely and supportive and told me to only focus on getting myself better for me and my 2 boys, she knows I have a fracture and let me know of services she could offer to help but she said I can't teach primary 1 in a sling. I also have a child with very complex needs and behavioural issues and she said I would be at risk in the class and she wouldn't have that. She really is just lovely. Because it's my left arm just makes everything harder - I can't write, drive etc I'm just not used to being so useless lol x