Any Personal Injury lawyers out there who could help?

[GryffinGirl]

First the confession - I'm a lawyer, but the wrong sort and personal injury isn't really my area, so wondered if anyone did PI and could give me a steer as I am helping a friend? I don't have any mates who do PI and I need to know whether it is worth pursuing a claim against a landlord for PI.

Basically, a very good friend has recently bought a flat. At the weekend she was trying to get out of the front door to the building. The main front door (not her flat front door) is in the common areas which belong to the landlord. The front door got stuck after workmen had repainted it. She tugged at it really hard to open it. The door flew back and hit her in the face, the glass shattered and her head went through the door. She has cut her face very badly, has had many stitches and will probably require platic surgery to avoid disfigurement. The door wasn't fitted with safety glass

I thought it would be clear cut (no pun intended) and she would have a great case, but that doesn't seem to be. I have had a look at the statute/case law on Occupiers Libility and the Defective Premises Act, plus building regulations etc and it seems that the landlord doesn't have an obligation to fit safety glass or owe her a duty to have safe premises, only to keep it in a good state of repair. There is a case on similar facts and the landlord won.

From a PI point of view, is it worth pursuing? Do you think she has a case?

Sounds to be that there may be a problem with a causal link....ie the door was stuck because of work that workmen had carried out. Was this forseeable by the landlord? It may be too remote. Just my initial thoughts.

Can she not get a reduced fee or free initial appointment with a PI lawyer?

It sounds as though she may have a claim against the landlord for either negligence or failure in his duty of care. A landlord is obliged to ensure that the dwelling is safe, hygenic and that all the items in the property are safe to use. The door clearly was not safe to use, as it stuck and was not fitted with safety glass.

Could your friend check her household insurance? She may have legal expenses cover there so that she could pursue a claim without the worry of costs building up.

Gryffingirl, unfortunately I think you're correct in that the landlord has no responsibility to provide safety glass in the door or provide a "safe" premises.

In order to claim PI, she has to prove negligence which from the details on your post would not be possible to do.

If she had reported that the door had a problem and was a danger and the landlord failed to act then she would have been in a better position.

I dont think a court would rule in her favour and the test case you have found would back that up.

Sorry your friend got hurt but I think her chances of claiming anything are slim.

thanks Freckle for the tip about the insurance. I'll get her to check. At the moment my friend is coming to terms with what happened to her face, so she wanted to work out if it would be worth persuing. I'll get her to speak to a PI lawyer, but she asked me for my initial thoughts (it's been a while since I looked at anything like this!). She won't get legal aid I honestly thought she'd have a strong claim, but I am not so sure now having looked into it a little further. From the case law I have read (2007 Court of Appeal case Alker v Collinwood) fitting safety glass to a door isn't required by a landlord

karen - thanks loads. You've expressed what I was wondering - that the causal link isn't there. The workmen were employed by the landlord who painted the door, so it stuck. My friend and another resident told the management company the day before the accident that the door wouldn't open and close properly. My thinking was that the landlord had constructive notice of rubbish door. Although I don't think the landlord could have foreseen that a sticking door was dangerous and I don't think it consitutes disrepair

thanks for helping Happymummy - we x-posts. The door was reported the day before the accident, but I think the chances of success are slim.