Injury Compensation for a Nurse Tripping in a Hospital

Can injury compensation for a nurse tripping in a hospital be claimed against an independent contractor, or must trip injury claims be made against an employer’s insurance policy? I tripped over an extension cable being used by a workman.

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

Claims for injury compensation for a nurse tripping in a hospital can be made provided the trip injury was the result of third party negligence. Usually nurse trip injury claims would be made due to the negligence of an employer, as an employer is responsible for making sure the workplace is safe and free from trip hazards. An employer owes a duty of care to the staff to ensure that this is the case. However, when independent contractors are used to perform maintenance work, they also have legal responsibilities, and a claim for injury compensation for a nurse tripping in a hospital is certainly possible if a workman has been negligent and has caused an accident.

Independent contractors must perform work in a safe manner, and they must take care not to create any trip hazards. Should this be unavoidable, such as needing to place an extension cable on the floor, then this cable should have been taped to the floor to reduce the risk of tripping and a warning sign should have been used to identify the hazard. A claim for injury compensation for a nurse tripping in a hospital could potentially be made against the contractor’s liability insurance policy for any lapses in health and safety which led to an injury being sustained. Only when it would have been reasonable to expect you to have seen the hazard and taken action to avoid it, would a claim for nurse trip injury compensation not be possible.

Since you were in hospital at the time, it is likely that your injuries were treated and assessed by a doctor, which is a requirement when making a claim for injury compensation for a nurse tripping in a hospital. However, your injuries must have also been recorded in your medical records and have been of sufficient severity to justify taking legal action to recover nurse trip injury compensation.

You must also complete an accident report in your employers ‘Accident Book’ detailing the injury which was sustained, and the circumstances under which the accident occurred. Even though the nurse trip injury claim will not be made against your employer’s insurance policy, a record still needs to be made in the Accident Book to prove that the injury was sustained in an accident at work.

Claims for injury compensation for a nurse tripping in hospital against workmen of maintenance companies are best discussed with a personal injury solicitor. When a solicitor is used to claim compensation for tripping in hospital the chances of negotiating a settlement directly with the contractor´s insurance company is greatly increased. A solicitor will make every attempt to reach a fair settlement to avoid delays in receiving compensation for a nurse trip injury in hospital while waiting for the Injuries Board to complete their assessment.