Slips and trips
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When winter brings the snow and ice it yields a landscape that’s both picturesque yet potentially deadly. Slips, trips and falls account for 15 per cent of all accidental deaths, second only to automobile fatalities, and icy surfaces are a major cause of this.
Love it or hate it, it is not always fun being out in snowy and icy conditions. We all know that lorries go out gritting busy roads, but what protection is there for pedestrians out walking?
The majority of ice-related accidents occur on public roads or pavements. In order to successfully claim compensation for your injuries, it is necessary to prove that another person’s negligence, or a breach of a statutory duty, has caused your injuries.
Who is responsible if I fall on an icy pavement ?
A local authority is responsible for maintaining public paths and roads, and as such owes a statuory duty of care to ensure that people using the paths or roads are safe.This duty is governed by the Highways Act 1980 and originally did not include any obligation on a local authority to remove snow or ice.
The Law changed on 31 October 2003, when a new section was added to the Highways Act 1980. This new section (section 41(1A)) states that a highway authority is under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway (public path) is not endangered by snow or ice.
What is meant by reasonably practicable ?
The duty of care is to keep the path clear of snow and ice, and to take preventative measures which are sufficient to keep the surface reasonably safe. ‘Reasonably practicable’ means that there are sufficient preventative measures in place to keep the surface reasonably safe.
An important consideration is whether sufficient time has elapsed to make it unreasonable for the highway authority to have failed to take remedial measures to clear the snow and ice. If no measures or insufficent measures are taken wihin a reasonable time, and injury is caused as a result, then a person is likely to be successful in establishing a breach of duty. Essentially, have reasonable steps been taken by the local authority to remove the danger of ice.
What would be considered negligent or a breach of statutory duty ?
a) A failure to grit busy roads/footpaths at busy times of the day during severely cold weather.
b) Not having an appropriate or adequate system for spreading grit
c) The system for spreading grit is not enforced or implemented correctly or adequately
d) The system is inadequate, through have no or insufficient levels of salt in stock
e) The local authority has failed to comply with the Code of Good Practice or their own local practices standards
What happens if I fall on private property ?
You are still entitled to be safe, whether it be entering shops or walking across supermarket’s car parks. The property owners are regarded as ‘Occupiers’ and a duty of care is owed under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. Each occupier has an obligation to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure the safety of visitors to their premises.
What does this mean ?
Occupiers must take account of weather forecasts, have sufficient salt in stock,clear a safe path through the snow and put up warning notices or shut the premises if necessary.
An occupier will be considered to have breached their duty of care if they have failed to grit their premises and other occupiers have, and also where they have no tools for clearing snow, ice or spreading grit.
Words by Michaela Hills