Imagine walking down the road, minding your own business and ending up in hospital with injuries caused by a hole in the pavement left by workers or a raised payment slab that should have been repaired.

It's a common enough occurrence, especially these days when local authorities are tight on repair budgets and when it's so easy to become distracted with children or your phone or just the busy roadside traffic.

It's not the fall, it's the landing that causes the damage

Sometimes though, the situation is a little more serious than a simple trip, stumble and bruised knees or hands, or a dent in your pride. It's not just older people who end up in hospital with serious injuries caused by pavement tripping accidents either. Plenty of younger people take a tumble, especially suburban runners, who may become distracted as they navigate path ways with other pedestrians and the cyclists who probably ought not to be there in the first place.

As a person trips, it's where and how they fall that causes the damage. A simple fall that is broken by the person's own hands and knees probably won't about to much more than a few scrapes. However, should the person fall awkwardly, fall over something else in the process, catch another sharp object on the way down, such as the corner of a wall or other outcrop of even a sharp rock on the ground - the situation can be much worse - catastrophic even, especially where head and spinal injuries are concerned.

For some, a fall could be catastrophic

For elderly people, a fall can also be catastrophic, such as with a hip / pelvis fracture as these could be life threatening. A broken leg or arm caused by the impact could make life extremely difficult and require them to need expensive external assistance.

For younger people too, being out of action for periods of time creates its own fair share of problems.

For serious tripping injuries, make a claim

When you experience such a fall and end up with injuries requiring more serious attention, it my not have been your fault. There are many circumstances where a poorly maintained walkway is the responsibility of the local authority and you could successfully claim damages.

We were recently engaged by a client for just such a reason. They were quietly walking down a suburban road. Tripping over a raised pavement slab resulted in moderate injuries, although they did not suffer any loss of earnings. We pursued the matter through the courts on behalf of the client and successfully recovered damages of £35,000; a sum that is considerably above the average award made in tripping claims.

If you've suffered an injury because of tripping over on the pavement and believe that it wasn't your fault, why not give the team at CCH & Co. a call to discuss making a claim. Call: 020 8520 1021  today.