Dodgy paving leads to trip and nasty injury

One Saturday afternoon in July 2016, Patricia was walking to the railway station in Edinburgh to get the train back to Galashiels in the Scottish Borders when she experienced a nasty fall at the top of the steps leading from Waverley Mall down to Waverley Station.

As she approached the steps, she tripped on a loose paving stone and hit her face on the first step. Her teeth went through her top lip and she also injured her right wrist.

Everything seemed to happen so quickly. Both Patricia and her husband Colin were in a state of shock. Two pleasant Swiss girls who are students at Napier University and an elderly lady helped them and called an ambulance.

Patricia was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where her lip received four stitches and she was told that she had fractured her wrist. The following day when she attended Borders General Hospital, she had to have her wrist manipulated back into place and was told that her bone had shattered. One of the paramedics who helped Patricia suggested that she should claim for compensation but she did not know whom to approach to help her.

Patricia’s daughter works for a conveyancing Law firm in the Borders and she was aware of Pedestrian Law Scotland and the specialist services we provide. She made contact on behalf of her mother and Jodi took on the case.

Jodi immediately intimated a claim against Waverley Mall. Their insurers were quick to respond but said that they were unaware of any incident having taken place at the steps and were surprised that they had not been informed. Upon receipt of the ambulance records, they were prompt to put forward a fair offer which we were happy to recommend that Patricia should accept.

Patricia had this to say about her experience,

“Initially I wasn’t that keen to pursue a claim for compensation, but the ambulance paramedic who attended to me said that I should and I was also encouraged by my family. My main concern was for others because I did not want them to trip and hurt themselves in the way that I did. I hoped that by bringing this to their attention, they would ensure that the problem was sorted and not just by put a yellow cover over the problem and hope it would go away. Jodi, from Pedestrian Law Scotland, was amazing throughout the whole process. She made it so easy and stress-free for me. Nothing was too much trouble for her. I never expected to get the amount of compensation she secured for me. I can’t thank Jodi enough.”