I slipped on improperly signed wet floors at work and have been told I cannot make a claim. A warning sign was stuck to the office door, but the door was open and I didn’t see it. Surely this cannot prevent me from claiming compensation?
Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor
Editor in Chief
It would appear that your employer or another member of staff has advised you incorrectly about eligibility to claim for having slipped on improperly signed wet floors. In order to determine whether a claim for having slipped on improperly signed wet floors is possible you should speak with a personal injury solicitor with experience of dealing with work injury claims.
Claims for having slipped on improperly signed wet floors are certainly possible, although you must be able to prove the signs were inadequate and that under the circumstances you could not have been reasonably expected to be able to see the warning and take extra care. A claim for having slipped on improperly signed wet floors at work should be possible in your case as it sounds as if your employer has been negligent by failing to place warning signs in a place where they were clearly visible.
It is customary for a-frame wet floor signs to be placed on the floor rather than warning signs to be taped to doors. Warning signs must be highly visible and should be placed directly over or in close proximity to the actual hazard, as this ensures the sign has maximum visibility. By placing a warning sign on a door it is unlikely that this would have been easily visible, especially when the door was open.
It is your responsibility to establish negligence in a claim for having slipped on improperly signed wet floors, and witness accounts of the accident can be compelling evidence. You should make a note of the contact details of witnesses to the accident which can be contacted by a solicitor to provide a written testimony. You should also complete an accident report in your employer’s accident book. Since it is likely that the sign is no longer present, obtaining photographic evidence of the accident scene is unlikely to be possible. However it should help your office slip injury claim if you can provide measurements of the distance from the door to where the sign was located in relation to the wet floor to help establish that the placement of the sign was inappropriate.
Although a claim for having slipped on improperly signed wet floors should be possible in your case, it would be advisable to speak with a personal injury solicitor promptly to confirm your eligibility to claim office slip injury compensation and also to prepare an office slip injury claim on your behalf through the Injuries Board. A solicitor will advise you of the evidence you will require to support your claim and your injuries will be thoroughly assessed to improve the likelihood of being awarded the maximum entitlement to personal injury compensation.