subject: Can I Make an Accident Claim if I've Slipped on Ice? [print this page] Can I Make an Accident Claim if I've Slipped on Ice?
The most dangerous part of the winter is when the snow goes from being a fluffy novelty, to a treacherous source of an accident claim.
As the snow is compacted down, it forms ice. This can be extremely dangerous for pedestrians, turning pavements, roads and car parks into accident hotbeds.
There seems to be somewhat of a grey area in the law regarding whether an accident claimcan be made as a result of slipping on ice.
The problem is assessing where the blame lies. This can be difficult to prove, because people can't be held accountable for weather conditions, which nobody can control. There are some instances however, where duty of care is owed to take steps that minimise this risk.
If you've slipped on ice and have suffered some sort of personal injury, then it may be possible to make an accident claim, depending on where the accident took place. This article will help you identify the situations in which you may be able to make an accident claim.
At Work
An example of this would be if you have slipped on ice at your place of work. Your employer has a duty of care to ensure that your place of work is safe and secure.
They should do this by making sure that the risk of accident in ice conditions is minimised by gritting entrances, car parks and other places of work. If this hasn't been done and you are injured as a result, then you may have a claim.
On Public Property
You may also have a claim if you have slipped on ice in a public place, such as the pavement or when you are crossing the road. The accident claim's success depends upon the severity o f the weather conditions and the location of the accident. The claim is more likely to be successful if injuries were sustained by slipping in a busy public place, on a particularly icy day.
When the weather turns icy, there will inevitably be accidents. This does not, however, mean our duty of care should be relinquished; so if you have been injured in the icy conditions, it's worth thinking if anyone was responsible and if it could have been avoided.
