As I was rushing out the door the other day I tripped over some boxes that were left lying around spraining my wrist in the process, am I entitled to claim compensation for tripping in an office?
You may be eligible to claim compensation for tripping in an office provided you can demonstrate that a third party was – at least partially – responsible for the accident and your subsequent injury, in order to do this you will need to build up substantial evidence to support your claim. Generally speaking if the accident occurs at work your employer is usually regarded as the negligent party. Your employer has a duty of care to their employees, this includes training staff about health and safety protocols, providing them any additional equipment required for their safety and ensuring that their working environment is safe. If they have failed to do any one of the above, you may be entitled to claim compensation for tripping in an office.
Quite often the person responsible for an accident in the workplace will not be your employer but a work colleague, however your employer could still regarded as the negligent party as they may not have adequately trained the employee who left boxes lying around on the floor about health and safety.
Your claim may be complicated however by the fact that you were rushing out the door, as it could be alleged by the negligent party’s insurers that you contributed to the accident by displaying a lack of care for your own welfare, in legal terms this is known as contributory negligence. If it is deemed that you are partially to blame for the accident that amount of compensation you are entitled to may be adversely affected.
It is recommended that you speak with a personal injury solicitor as they will be able to best advise if it is worthwhile pursuing compensation for tripping in an office based on the circumstances surrounding your accident.