I slipped on a wet patch in the lobby of a Dublin hotel and wondered if I could claim for slipped disk compensation?
Your eligibility for claiming slipped disk compensation will be determined depending on the circumstances of your accident. Hotels in Ireland should be suitably equipped to tackle wet lobby floors as they are well accustomed to inclement weather. It should be possible for you to claim compensation for slipped disk if it can be proven that the hotel you were staying in were negligent in their duty of care to prevent or remove hazards which are attributable to the weather.
It must be stressed, however, that the hotel’s duty of care is not “absolute”, meaning that you may not be able to claim slipped disk compensation if the staff had not been able to identify the hazard and remove it in a “reasonable” length of time. You may only qualify to make a slipped disc claim for compensation if the wet patch remained a hazard for an unacceptable amount of time.
A very important feature of a slipped disk compensation claim is that you can confirm that you sought professional medical treatment for your injury immediately after you slipped, not only for the sake of your health but in order for your medical records to be updated. Receiving first aid from the hotel or having administered treatment yourself is not sufficient as there will be no official record of your accident.
It is also recommended that you report the accident to the hotel manager, if you have not already done so, and have your injury noted in the hotel’s “Accident Report Book”. Any photographs of the scene of the accident and of your injury can also benefit your claim, as would the collection of any witness details who could be called upon to support your slipped disk claim.
It would certainly be in your best interests to consult with an experienced solicitor to discuss the circumstances of your accident and for him or her to hear the reasons behind your potential slipped disk compensation claim. Your solicitor would be able to determine whether or not your claim is worth pursuing in the initial consultation that most solicitors offer without charge.