On 7 July 2019 our client suffered a fall injury in the sauna at Renfrew Sports Centre. The injured man was referred to Thompsons' personal injury solicitors in Scotland through his union.
The background
Our client was attending the gym and sauna at the sports centre following a shift at work.
On entering the sauna, our client wished to take a space on the bench towards the top of the cabin. This required him to climb onto the tiered seating. He placed his foot on the wooden slats of the bottom bench and took hold of the upper tier to help him climb. As he began to pull himself onto the seating, the bottom tier collapsed underneath him. He fell through the collapsed bench, rolling his ankle as he was propelled forwards.
On leaving the sports centre, our client reported the incident to the reception desk and an accident report statement was taken.
The consequences
A few hours after the fall accident, our client noticed that his knee was painful. The following day he went to his GP, who diagnosed a torn tendon on his patella. He continued to suffer pain from the knee injury and the ankle injury which prevented him from carrying out some of his employment duties. He was also unable to carry out overtime shifts as a result of the fall injury.
Thompsons solicitors intimated a claim to Renfrew Sports Centre. No position on liability was forthcoming, so we progressed the claim to the All Scotland Personal Injury Court. As well as evidence from the defender, which failed to prove that full checks had been carried out into the condition of the equipment in the sauna, we also obtained a medical report which confirmed that our client had a suffered a lateral collateral ligament sprain to his left ankle and a soft tissue injury to his left knee, requiring 14-15 months recovery time.
The case proceeded and at a pre-trial meeting the defender made a compensation settlement offer of £5,240. We made our client aware that he had the option of seeking a further, increased offer from the defender, however, he was happy to accept the offer as he wished to bring the matter to a swift conclusion.
Settlement was agreed on 21 June 2021.
