Wire Trip Hazard Compensation Claims

By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 4th October 2022. This guide will explain how to claim compensation for injuries caused by a wire trip hazard.

Tripping accidents aren’t uncommon. Loose cables or wires can cause a tripping accident. Employers are responsible for protecting the safety of those on their premises. Parties in the control of places that are accessible to the public should ensure they’re safe for visitors to use.  Therefore, as part of this duty of care, these parties should reduce the risk of tripping accidents where possible.

Wire trip hazard

Wire trip hazard guide

If you have been injured because you tripped on a loose wire due to another party’s negligence, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

Our panel of solicitors could help you claim compensation for injuries caused by a tripping accident. Our advisors can connect you with a skilled personal injury lawyer from our panel to handle your claim. What’s more, you could make a No Win No Fee claim.

To see if you can begin your claim, please call our helpline today on 0800 408 7825. Or you can contact us via our website to get started.

Select A Section

  1. What Is A Wire Trip Hazard?
  2. What Accidents And Injuries Could They Cause?
  3. Wire Hazard Trips In The Workplace
  4. Wire Hazard Trips In Public Places
  5. Tripping Claims
  6. Calculate Your Wire Trip Hazard Payout
  7. Contact Us To Start Your No Win No Fee Claim
  8. Slip, Trip And Fall Resources

What Is A Wire Trip Hazard?

We will start by answering the question, ‘What is a wire trip hazard?’ A wire becomes a hazard when it is positioned where it can trip up a passerby. A trailing cable or an extension cord could also be a trip hazard.

Examples of tripping hazards include the following:

  • A loose wire in an office space
  • Industrial cables in a factory that aren’t fixed to the wall or floor
  • An extension cord that isn’t covered and is in a walkway

To claim compensation for injuries caused by a trip hazard, you must prove the following:

  1. Firstly, the defendant owed you a duty of care at the time of your injuries. For example, they were your employer, and you were at work at the time.
  2. Secondly, you will need need to prove that the defendant breached their duty of care to you and therefore caused an accident, such as leaving a loose wire running along the floor of your workplace.
  3. And finally, you will need to prove that the accident was a direct cause of your injuries. Your lawyer may use medical records and other evidence to prove this.

If you have any questions about wire trip hazard claims, our advisors are available 24/7 and give free legal advice.

What Accidents And Injuries Could They Cause?

Trip and fall accidents can result in a range of avoidable injuries. Let’s look at how a wire or cable can cause a tripping accident.

Wire Trip Accidents

Cables and wires that run across the floor can trip up passersby. Likewise, passersby can trip up if the wire is lifted off the floor. To address this hazard, you can use a cord cover, which prevents people from tripping over a wire or cord, or you can make sure that wires are fixed to the wall instead.

Wire Trip Injuries

Here are some examples of injuries caused by wire trip hazards:

If you claim compensation for an injury caused by tripping on a wire, please don’t be afraid to reach out and see if you can claim compensation.

Wire Hazard Trips In The Workplace

Employers have a duty of care to their employees. Essentially, they should provide their staff with a safe working environment. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 enacts this principle into law. Therefore, employers are responsible for taking reasonable measures to prevent trips in the workplace.

Workplaces should also conduct regular risk assessments to identify potential hazards, including wire trip hazards. The employer is responsible for ensuring the hazard is removed or minimised.

If an employer fails to take reasonable steps to stop wires from tripping up their workers, the employer could be held liable for any injuries caused. Consequently, the employee may make a claim for compensation.

Certain injuries caused by tripping accidents should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). The HSE is a government agency that helps employers abide by health and safety laws.

Wire Hazard Trips In Public Places

Loose cables can be a wire trip hazard in public places, like shops or leisure centres. According to the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, parties in control of places that are accessible to the public have a duty of care to protect the safety of visitors. (Such parties may be business owners, landlords or local authorities, for example.)

Therefore, a controller of public space may be held liable for any injuries caused if trailing cables or wires cause a tripping accident because they weren’t properly secured. As a result, the person involved in the accident may be eligible to claim compensation from the party responsible for their injuries.

If you have tripped on a wire in a public place and it wasn’t your fault, please contact us about claiming compensation.

Tripping Claims

If you tripped over trailing cables or loose wiring due to third-party negligence and were injured as a result, you might be entitled to claim compensation. Tripping claims require evidence, both of your injuries and the third-party negligence that caused them.

Evidence in tripping claims could include:

  • Medical records.
  • Witness contact details.
  • Photographs of your injuries and/or of the trailing cables, loose wiring, or other tripping hazard.
  • CCTV footage if any exists.
  • Accident logbook if your tripping injuries occurred at work.

This list isn’t exhaustive; other forms of evidence could also help you. For example, there may not have been witnesses or CCTV. You can still have a valid trip hazard claim without them. Evidence is going to be unique to each claim. A solicitor could advise you on what evidence could support your trip hazard claim.

Call our advisors today to learn what evidence could support your trip claim.

Calculate Your Wire Trip Hazard Payout

If you were injured due to a wire trip hazard caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be eligible to claim compensation. If it is successful, you could receive up to two heads of claim. These are:

  1. General damages, which compensate claimants for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by their injuries.
  2. Special damages, which reimburse the claimant for any expenses or finanical losses caused by the injuries.

You can use the table below to calculate how much compensation you could claim for general damages. The compensation amounts in this table are based on guidelines from the Judicial College. Solicitors use these guidelines when valuing injuries.

How much you may receive can vary, according to your circumstances. Please feel free to call our claims helpline, and one of our advisors can estimate how much you could claim.

Edit
Injured Body Part About The Injury Potential Award Bracket
Pelvic Injury – Severe (i) An extensive pelvic fracture which involves lower back joint dislocations and a rupture to the bladder. Could also include a hip injury with a similar degree of injury. £78,400 to £130,930

Arm Injury – (b) A serious fracture of either one forearm or both forearms. The person will be left with significant and permanent disability. This disability could be cosmetic or functional. £39,170 to £59,860
Arm injury – (d) Simple Forearm Fractures £6,610 to £19,200
Neck Injury – Severe (iii) Dislocations, fractures or soft tissue injuries that have caused someone to suffer chronic injuries as well as permanent and significant disabilities. £45,470 to
£55,990
Neck Injury – Moderate (i) Dislocations or fractures that cause the person to experience severe symptoms. These symptoms and injury could require the person to need a spinal fusion. £24,990 to
£38,490
Shoulder Injury – Serious (b) This could include fractured humerus injuries that restrict the person’s shoulder movement. £12,770 to £19,200
Elbow Injury – Moderate to Minor This could include a simple fracture of the elbow, such as those cause by falls. Up to £12,590
Clavicle Fracture How much is awarded in damages will depend on how severe the fracture is. £5,150 to £12,240
Wrist Injury – (e) A Colles’ fracture which does not have any complications. In the region of £7,430
Chest Injury – (g) Rib fractures or a soft tissue injury which causes the person disability and pain for weeks only. Up to £3,950

In addition to general damages, you may be entitled to receive special damages. Here are some examples of special damages you could claim:

  • Loss of earnings
  • Transportation expenses (to and from the hospital, for example)
  • Medical expenses (if not covered by the NHS)
  • Care expenses if necessitated

If you suffer a serious accident and become disabled, you could claim funds to pay for any mobility equipment or home adaptations you may need.

In order to be able to claim special damages, you’d need to provide evidence of your financial losses. For example, bank statements and invoices can prove losses.

Contact Us To Start Your No Win No Fee Claim

Has a wire trip hazard that wasn’t your fault led to your injuries? Then you may be eligible to claim compensation. If you have a valid claim, our panel of solicitors could offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. Many claimants find that making a No Win No Fee claim allows them to access the services of solicitors with reduced financial risk.

With a No Win No Fee claim, you do not have to pay an upfront solicitor’s fee. Instead, you will sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is another term for a No Win No Fee agreement.

It states that you will pay a success fee if your lawyer wins your claim. Therefore, any finanical risk involved in funding a solicitor is lowered because you will not be charged a success fee if the outcome of your claim is not successful.

To see if you can begin your claim for injuries caused by a tripping accident, please get in touch with us today using the contact details below.

  • Call our helpline on 0800 408 7825.
  • Contact us via our website.
  • Use the live chat in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen to contact us directly.

Slip, Trip And Fall Resources

We appreciate you taking the time to read our guide to claiming compensation. If you want to learn more, please feel free to look at these online guides.

Slip, Trip Or Fall Compensation Claim Against Public Liability Insurance Guide

£12,750 Compensation Payout For A Cheek Injury Caused By A Fall

How Much Could My Slip Trip Accident Compensation Claim Be Worth?

Preventing slips and trips at work: a guide from HSE.

Causes and prevention of slip and trip accidents: a guide from HSE.

A guide to preventing falls from the NHS.

If you have any questions about claiming compensation for injuries caused by a wire trip hazard, we can help if you get in touch.

Article by AH 

Publisher UI