Driver gets compensation for professional negligence
A man who fell through an uncovered manhole has received compensation after he launched an accident claim.
The 54-year-old had paid to park his vehicle overnight in a service station, when he fell down the manhole in the car park where he was checking his vehicle early the next day.
The fall resulted in a personal injury to his shoulder effectively ruling him out of driving for nine weeks, and had to take time off work.
His injury lawyers were successful in settling the claim for £3,000.
The man said: "I shudder to think what the long term consequences of this could have been. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know I was there – I had paid to stay overnight - and drivers were bound to get in and out of their cabs in the dark."
The owners of service station had a duty to ensure the car park was safe for all users.
His injury lawyers said that the service station exposed the man to a trap, when they failed to ensure that workmen replaced the manhole covers after they had finished their job.
"They had a duty to ensure the car park was safe for all users and they failed in that duty,” they commented.
Updated on 05/02/2010