Leg Injury Caused by Poorly Laid Concrete

Mrs O was delivering a Christmas card to a neighbour when she stumbled off a grass verge onto poorly laid concrete on the neighbour’s driveway. At the time of the accident it was dark and wet and visibility was not very good.  Her neighbours had recently had a new driveway laid.  After the work was completed the ground had sunk as it had not been banked properly, leaving a large dip in the concrete. There was a significant difference in the levels between the grass and the dipped concrete.

Mrs O, who was 69 years old at the time of the accident, sustained a spiral fracture of the right tibia and fibula.  Mrs O is a diabetic and the skin over the lower shin is a poor healing area.  It was not possible to maintain a satisfactory fracture position with usual methods so surgical treatment was undertaken.  There were problems with healing and Mrs O required extensive plastic surgery treatment.  Unfortunately she has been left with a bulky flap of tissue around the right ankle as a result of the treatment.  She was left with 70% function in her right leg and a small increased risk of arthritis. The scars on the bulky flap constitute a cosmetic blemish.

After some persuasion Mrs O's claim was settled by TSP's Clare Sheeran who represented Mrs O.