Injury at home.

[Naknik]

Hi , my husband and I are recently new tennants to housing associations in general having come from private renting. I was injured yesterday by a falling kitchen wall cupboard that was not in anyway installed properly or safely and I want to take this quite high as I tall enough that I was only injured the cupboard scratched my face rather badly also got an injured foot, along with back, neck and shoulder pain.... We have kids and if it had been them under it they could have been killed.... I have been told by people I should put in a no win no fee claim but not sure if you can for something like this.

We have photos of everything.

I doubt very much you can make any claim for that, what is your loss, what would you be claiming and against whom?

Call the housing association and ask them what the process is.

You need to be clear what remedy you want. Priority should be to ensure it is safe surely. Have you suffered any actual financial losses?

We have kids and if it had been them under it they could have been killed....
But they weren't . I could have fallen in front of a bus crossing the road this morning, but I didn't.
The law doesn't deal in might have's.

I would imagine the resolution you want is the rest of the cupboards being checked that they are safe?

Have you asked for someone to come round and check? I would think it would be fair to ask for someone from a different company to check they are safe.

In what way were they incorrectly installed? That s not good at all.

@JanewaysBun

I would imagine the resolution you want is the rest of the cupboards being checked that they are safe?

Have you asked for someone to come round and check? I would think it would be fair to ask for someone from a different company to check they are safe.

In what way were they incorrectly installed? That s not good at all.

But, obviously she can do that without suing anyone. Just ask the housing association.

You can make a claim, either make it yourself in small claims (there are guides on google) or get a solicitor. Payment would be for pain & suffering, there are scales which set out how much each injury is worth.

Well, this "guy" had loss of earnings and it was reasonable that the LL should have been aware of the issue:

www.bartlettslaw.co.uk/accidents-at-home/compensation-for-tenant-injured-by-unsafe-furniture.html

What were the problems with the cupboard, op? Not installed properly or safely is quite a claim, couldn't the previous tenants have damaged it in some way?

You could in theory make a claim.

You don't need to have suffered financial loss (although if you have this might also be recoverable). You would need to have suffered a demonstrable injury - injury claims are only cost bearing if over 1k, so if all you've suffered is some minor bruises and scratches, then it's unlikely you'd exceed that threshold and find a solicitor willing to take on your claim unless on a contingency fee basis (where you will agree to pay them a percentage of your damages).

As to whether you would be successful, the simple fact you were injured doesn't guarantee a payout. If your landlord could demonstrate the property was in good repair, point to maintenance logs etc then you might not succeed. The cupboard might have been put up poorly by a previous tenant, in which case depending on inspection requirements the landlord might not be liable. They could argue you had caused the cupboard to come loose in some way...had you overloaded it in some way? how long had you been in the property? It might be difficult to prove you hadn't caused the issue if you'd been there for months.

By all means seek legal advice, but the outcome will be influenced by the above.

Begin with your HA’s complaints process. They should have the policy and procedure for making a complaint available on their website. When stating your complaint, you need to state clearly what happened, why you feel the HA is responsive, and what you would like them to do to put things right.

For any kind of compensation claim (including if you want compensation from the HA) you would need to establish that the cupboard fell because of something the HA (or their repairs contractor) should or could reasonably have been aware needed to be put right, and that it didn’t fall because you overloaded it, or your child had been messing with it, or because you had not reported sooner that it was not fixed to the wall correctly. If you moved in a week ago you’ll have more success at this than if you moved in months ago.

No win no fee solicitors are unlikely to be interested in your claim until you’ve had some response from the HA. They take cases on only if they think they have a good chance of securing a win (and therefore their fee.)

Have you been to a&e? It’s hard to claim injuries if you don’t seek medical help, as you need to quantify your suffering.

As a pp said, the law doesn’t punish based on what might have happened. Plus you’d need to prove the housing association was in some way negligent. It they should have checked it was installed correctly.

If you go thr no win no fee route, read the contract carefully, some of them do say there will be charges, it’s not quite what it says on the tin. Plus also how much they take. So for example it might say forty percent of any award, with a min of three grand, and if your award is five hundred quid, you’re liable to pay the other two and a half. Because you won and so there was a fee...and it was three grand. You can also effectively “win” and get no award.

I’d caution you to be very careful. Also if the defences lawyers think you’re lying, and it’s a fraudulent claim Ie you’re pretending to be more injured than you are, then you could be liable for the housing associations legal costs too.

It’s really not as simple as you sign with one of these firms and if you don’t win, or even win, you come out of it either owing nothing or with some cash. It’s full of risks.

How much do you want?

If you have very recently moved in, ask your HA also for a copy of their void/letting standard. This will state all the things they oblige themselves to do when turning over a void and declaring it read to re-let, and usually includes a checklist of stuff like ensuring all kitchen units are in good order. Again, this will hold more weight if they are claiming to have checked this days or a week or so ago than if you’ve been in the property longer.

If you go thr no win no fee route, read the contract carefully, some of them do say there will be charges, it’s not quite what it says on the tin. Plus also how much they take. So for example it might say forty percent of any award, with a min of three grand, and if your award is five hundred quid, you’re liable to pay the other two and a half. Because you won and so there was a fee...and it was three grand. You can also effectively “win” and get no award.

I've never worked at a firm with this kind of charging arrangement. Seems fishy to me.

@Naknik, I've won (and paid out as a Defendant solicitor) cases like this. But every case is fact-dependent so I can't tell you your prospects of success.

You do need to report the accident to the HA, which I assume you've done, but you don't need to go through the complaints process. Solicitors have to fully investigate themselves in any event.

Yes that’s why she needs to read the contract carefully. These no won no fee companies can be very fishy indeed. They want their costs covered.

So if their costs are three grand and you’re awarded one, then you owe the two grand.

You win. There’s a fee. It’s not always based on a percentage of your award, they want their costs and a profit.

And no win no fee doesn’t mean you’ve no costs. Because if you’re found to have been bringing a fraudulent case, or even probably were, as you pulled out so close to the case, and the evidence is against you, then the other side will possibly come after you for their costs. They don’t just swallow the costs and say oh that’s a shame.

So if the op wants to go after them, she needs the correct medical reports on her injuries, and she needs to properly read and understand any contract with a no win no fee company before signing it.

@Bluntness100, I'm a PI solicitor. I know more about this sector than you.

This case was a warning to firms about sharp practices in relation to charging models.

Costs are also paid to the claimant solicitors by Defendants. The Claimant isn't responsible for the lot.

Oh, and you need to be found fundamentally dishonest by a Judge for QOCS to be disapplied. The Defendant doesn't get to choose whether to come after you for their costs. What they can do if you withdraw your case post-issue is ask the Court to still list it so a finding can potentially be found (they'd have to think they have the Claimant bang to rights for this usually).