How can I tell if I will be entitled to make an injury claim for walking into a glass door in a shop?
Although it is possible to make an injury claim for walking into a glass door, the insurance company of the shop may reject liability for your injury. Accidents of this nature often involve at least a small degree of contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff, and insurance companies are likely to decline an Injuries Board assessment on this basis. If liability is not accepted, the case must be resolved by direct negotiation with the insurance company or by litigating the case through the Irish courts.
The insurance company may claim you were partly (or wholly) to blame for the accident, and had you been paying sufficient attention to where you were walking you would have been able to tell the door was closed and thus been able to avoid the accident. If it can be established by the respondent (or insurance company) that a reasonably attentive person would have easily been able to see the door was closed and thus avoid being injured by a glass door, it is unlikely that you would be able to recover compensation for your injury. It is your responsibility as the plaintiff to prove that this was not the case, and you were not primarily responsible for your accident.
There are procedures to complete after an accident of this nature which can improve the probability of being able to recover injury compensation for walking into a glass door. The most important action to take is to ensure that your injuries are treated by a doctor. If you were provided with first aid in the shop, this does not count as medical attention; as your injuries will not have been recorded in your medical records. The accident should also have been made in writing in the shop’s Accident Book. The accident book report can be used as proof that the accident occurred. If you have not yet made an accident book report, you should return to the shop to do so as soon as possible.
You will also need to supply evidence of negligence to support your injury claim for walking into a glass door. Ideally you should return to the shop to take photographs of the glass door. These should highlight how difficult it was to see the glass in the door. If the glass in the door was perfectly clear and no attempts had been made by the shopkeeper to improve the visibility of the glass in the door, it should be possible to make a claim.
It may also be possible to obtain CCTV camera data of you being injured by a glass door by making an access request to the shopkeeper to release the recording under the Data Protection Act; although this should be left to a solicitor to obtain on your behalf.
After your injuries have been treated and the accident reported, it is advisable to seek legal advice from a personal injury solicitor to find out if you can claim injury compensation for walking into a glass door and the level of damages you are likely to be able to recover. A solicitor will also provide assistance with the preparation of your Injuries Board claim form and will assist with the collection of evidence of negligence to support your case.