Personal Accidents.

[Paul Reids Sock]

Sorry, yes slipped. The floor was wet as there were drinks spilt on it, it was in a nighclub and yes alcohol was also involved. Im thinking dont bother but friends have said may as well if your going to get some cash out of it?

This sort of thing really annoys me (not you personally, but the general compensation culture especially in bars/nightclubs)

When I was working in a bar we had a customer that got drunk and fell off her chair. she landed on the wine glass she was holding and the stem (is that the right word) went into her wrist. Cue, masses of blood leaking from her onto the floor, us having to close 2 hours early and the door staff rushing to give first aid. That night she could have died becuase she drank too much and fell over, and it was the actions of our staff that saved her life.

She tried to sue the bar saying that it was negligance. The compensation companies all lapped it up and it was the final straw for the venue going under. The thing that makes me happy is that it folded before she got any compensation but ever since I have despised this culture of always blaming someone else. We had even stopped serving the woman becuase she was getting drunk but had let her stay in the venue on a strictly soft drinks basis as it was her friends birthday, she was then taking their drinks and getting worse and before we could kick her out she fell.

There was a drink on a nightclub floor which is to be expected (unless you are going to much nicer nightclubs than myself) This shouldn't cost the venue and therefore their customers money. In the days before all this you probably would have got a free drink and been happy about it. Now everyone wants thousands

Edit - I apologisefor the rather passionate response, but it was a factor in me losing a job I loved!! My hair is back on

 

[dragonred]

this is what I do for a living but to be honest, don't waste your time - slips on spilled drinks in bars and clubs are never straight forward and in fairness they shouldn't be either otherwise no bar/club would dare serve any drink - you can go to the bucket shop of the legal world (the nationals that advertise on TV, radio etc) and they may take it on as they like volume but for what its worth don't be surprised if they drop the case in a few months time when they realise there is almost certainly no case at all on liability for this. Before any one attacks me for my job, done properly (i.e. actually having a profession and trained for it for many years and acting for people with genuine cases/injuries) rest assured we also hate the sue everything that walks culture as it is not what we trained to do and the people/firms doing it are not what I call or consider to be proper lawyers either.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I could have got a few grand out of the NHS a few years back with a serious mis diagnoses but did not pursue it. These ambulance chasers are the scum of the Earth.

 

[Eksman]

Don't do it, a little pain will go away. Only time I've claimed for an Injury is when someone took me out on my motorbike, I couldn't walk and I couldn't work so I just claimed for loss of earnings which is fair enough..

Just think IMAGINE if everyone that had a little slip made a claim, no one would afford to run their business or even bother trying to get one going incase someone has a trip.

 

[maltaseagull]

Meanwhile business insurance costs go up again which then are passed onto the customer so everybody suffers.

Yep the only real winners are the lawyers who live off this.

Amazing how attitudes have changed. 30 years ago you fell , you got up and carried on.

Now most people seem to fall over and think "what can I get out of this?"

I am not against a company with very poor standards concerning Health and Safety being punished but there seems to be a whole ethos of me me me .

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Is it a question of it being morally wrong and a very 'american' way of thinking? I didnt say I was going to do it, I asked what people opinions were so keep you hair on Gazwag.

Yes, I did have a drink, no, I was not drunk at that point and I wasnt the only one to fall over. After I had fell I saw at least 2 other people deck it big time as the wooden floor was soaking wet! There were actually puddles!! There was no duty of care taken that night!

Anyway, its too much hassle for me persoanlly, I dont see the point, but as the idea had been out into my head I wanted see what the general feeling was.

YOU had a duty of care to take enough action after you slipped to stop it happening again. Did you immediately report it, after the 2nd, after the 3rd (broke their neck?) put a table? In the way...or just watch?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Meanwhile business insurance costs go up again which then are passed onto the customer so everybody suffers.

Indeed. I'm aware of a false personal injury claim made against a local business through a no-win-no-fee solicitor. The business chose to contest it, and won. It cost the claimant nothing. It cost the business £18,000.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

In the old days if you slipped over in a nightclub it was because you were pissed. I remember falling down the stairs leaving Night Fever and badly twisting my ankle and I was negligent in having too much to drink and didn't end up blaming it on the stair carpet.

 

[elninobonito]

YOU had a duty of care to take enough action after you slipped to stop it happening again. Did you immediately report it, after the 2nd, after the 3rd (broke their neck?) put a table? In the way...or just watch?

I reported it straight away and the club staff didnt so anything. I then reported it again after the second person fell and it then took a third person slipping for the staff to start clearing this up. From me faling to them acting was about 30 minutes? Yopu have to also understand I was in a lot of pain at the time too.

They wanted to chuck me out as they said I was drunk, I said I wasnt drunk, I was very aware of what was going on at the time but the staff didnt seem to want to know.

Anyway...no, I am not persuing this, I didnt say I was going to make a claim I wanted to see how many would/wouldnt. It seems many are very against this kind of culture and many have been affected as a result.

 

[clippedgull]

I could have got a few grand out of the NHS a few years back with a serious mis diagnoses but did not pursue it. These ambulance chasers are the scum of the Earth.

I hope who ever mis diagnosed you was disciplined and you received a full apology from the relevant NHS trust.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I hope who ever mis diagnosed you was disciplined and you received a full apology from the relevant NHS trust.

was mis diagnosed after a serious eye injury in 2009, student nurse looked at it, said you will be fine, sent home with some ointment for the eye, 24 hours later could barely see, went back to the eye hospital, had it examined by an experienced doctor, rushed into the eye hospital and on 1 hour antibiotic eye drops for 48 hours. If I had not gone back I would have gone blind.

 

[Mowgli37]

I really can't stand the 'sue everyone' mentality some have, no disrespect to the OP but sometimes accidents do just happen. I slipped on my mum's over polished floor and crocked my knee for about a week, do I go and sue her?

 

[clippedgull]

was mis diagnosed after a serious eye injury in 2009, student nurse looked at it, said you will be fine, sent home with some ointment for the eye, 24 hours later could barely see, went back to the eye hospital, had it examined by an experienced doctor, rushed into the eye hospital and on 1 hour antibiotic eye drops for 48 hours. If I had not gone back I would have gone blind.

Crikes. Well thankfully you were pro active and got it sorted at the second attempt.

 

[Brother Sid]

As a small business owner I'm currently being sued by two slip/trip claimants. As part of our risk assesment we highlight potential hazards to our employees and the result is that all we are doing is giving them an opportunity. Both of them are utter fabrications and take up an inordinate amount of time and effort to refute. I'm so fed up with these opportunists i'm almost at the point of closing the business down and making 20 of their colleagues redundant.