Labour Research April 2003

Health & Safety Matters

Compensation for fall

A schoolteacher who slipped on a chip has been awarded £44,650 damages by the High Court. NASUWT member Carol Harper slipped and fell down eight steps and fractured a bone in her left ankle. She was off work for a year and eventually had to retire. Staffordshire County Council agreed the amount of damages but denied liability. But the judge found that on the day of the accident the stairs should have been checked and stairs swept if necessary.