Welcome settlement for widower who plunged downstairs when lights failed
Jennifer Kelly settled a claim on behalf of her client John who fell down the stairs in his apartment building when the area was plunged into darkness due to a fault with the lights.
John, who is in his seventies and a recent widower, lives alone with his dog in a privately owned apartment. He usually takes the lifts to the block's underground carpark, but on this January afternoon, he used the stairs as the lifts were busy.
He assumed the stair lights worked on sensors like the lighting in all other communal areas, so started to walk down the stairs, which were illuminated. There are three flights of stairs to get to the garage door and as John reached the top step of the final level, the lights went off and he was suddenly in total darkness.
This stairwell, unlike everywhere else, was operated by a timed switch, and the emergency lights that should have illuminated in green when the main lights were out, were defective. John had already begun his decent when he was plunged into darkness and became totally disorientated. He lost his footing and fell down the final five stairs.
He suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and a seven-centimetre tear to his rotator cuff. John was hospitalised for a short time and discharged with a basic statutory community support package which was not enough to meet his needs.
He relied heavily on his only son to care for him, who had his own young family at home. His son contacted Jenny, who arranged a visit to see John and his son.
Aware of John's need for more care and assistance, and how the psychological impact of the injury and isolation, Jenny engaged the defendant insurer and had an Immediate Needs Assessment (INA) carried out urgently. Although this INA recommended significant care needs, especially as John required further surgery to repair his rotator cuff, the defendants withheld funds, citing various reasons.
Jenny fought John's case with determination and after five months of back and forth secured a hugely beneficial settlement on his behalf.
As a recent widower John was coping with a new sense of isolation at the time of the accident and sought comfort from having his dog at home. Jenny recognised that he was not able to look after his pet at home without support, so fought for this consideration to part of his care package.
After the settlement, John's son said told said to Jenny:
"I just wanted to take a moment to really thank you. You, out of everyone, have been nothing short of incredible. You’ve been so supportive, understanding and determined throughout this whole process. You’ve made it so much less stressful than it could have been, and we couldn’t have done it without you.
"I just felt like you understood my position so much better than anyone else, you got what I was going through, and knew how much I just wanted Dad to just be happy and healthy again, and have some normality again. So from me to you, thank you! Dad is so grateful to you, too, needless to say."
Contact us
For further information about personal injury claims, please call Jennifer Kelly on 0330 460 6775 or email jennifer.kelly@fieldfisher.com.
Alternatively
- You can speak to our personal injury solicitors on freephone 0800 358 3848
- email us: personalinjury@fieldfisher.com
- Complete the short online enquiry form
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