Woman Who Broke Her Back Sledging Sues Sunderland City Counc

[DaveH23]

Don't get me wrong this womas has suffered life changing injuries and it must be awfull for both her and her family especially as she has lost her job, but how can she possibly sue the council for not warning her of drainage ditch covered in snow?

Stories like this really boil my piss.

http://tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/61144/woma...

[speedy_thrills]

Surely the £10k spend on legal things could have been spent fencing off this ditch. Not a chance of winning IMO.

[Rude-boy]

[TheHeretic]

Exactly what did this ditch look like? Surely a responsible parent would have checked the area before careening down there on a sledge? They call it a 'ski slope' in the article? Is it anything of the sort?

[Pothole]

TheHeretic said:

They call it a 'ski slope' in the article?

No, they don't.

article said:

near Silksworth Ski Slope

[Digga]

Unfortunately, until or unless precedent is changed, the law allows anyone who suffers an accident to bring a case against the landowner. End of.

The courts in the UK need to decide collectively, whether we want to be ambulance-chaser-central, or otherwise whether they need to demonstrate, clearly, that any spurious claims - where outright negligence and direct accountability cannot be proven - are thrown out early.

[otolith]

TheHeretic said:

Exactly what did this ditch look like? Surely a responsible parent would have checked the area before careening down there on a sledge? They call it a 'ski slope' in the article? Is it anything of the sort?

The article says that it was a snowy hill near to the (dry) ski slope.

"Kate launched legal action to prevent other families going through the same ordeal"

[blindswelledrat]

Pothole said:

TheHeretic said:

They call it a 'ski slope' in the article?

No, they don't.

article said:

near Silksworth Ski Slope

I thought that. Which is it?
Stupid annoying journalism.
Particularly as it makes no difference to the article whatever the truth is.

[motco]

She thought it was safe...

The problem is that people seem to think the world is Disneyland, and everything is made of fibreglass and has had a risk assessment carried out on it. That, or it's a computer game and if she'd pressed the escape key everything would have been alright...

[otolith]

Even if sense prevails and she loses, how much is this case costing the taxpayer?

[TheHeretic]

blindswelledrat said:

I thought that. Which is it?
Stupid annoying journalism.
Particularly as it makes no difference to the article whatever the truth is.

Well, that was my thinking. Was this thing in amongst a bunch of snow skiing sporty stuff, or on a hill near a road in the proximity of said ski slope. It makes a huge difference. It suggests something else in the story, and just wanted it clarified.

[Oakey]

"Kate said: “If there had been a fence around it or a danger sign I would not have taken my son there."

If there'd been a fence this story would be about how she's suing them for smashing into the fence on her sled.

[Rude-boy]

Oakey said:

"Kate said: “If there had been a fence around it or a danger sign I would not have taken my son there."

If there'd been a fence this story would be about how she's suing them for smashing into the fence on her sled.

Like the poor girl that I seem to remember died last year craqshing into a wire fence, and the 1,000's of people who have also broken backs, necks, bones and scared themseleves for life in sledging accidents.

As I said:-

[Oakey]

Perhaps we'll reach a point in the future where absolutely everything in our day to day lives has a warning label or sign applied to it? I can see it now, signs on the inside of your front door saying "mind the step", office mugs with "caution: contents may be hot" emblazoned on them, kerbs painted in luminous green paint, knives with "sharp object" engraved on them, etc, etc.

[rohrl]

Oakey said:

Perhaps we'll reach a point in the future where absolutely everything in our day to day lives has a warning label or sign applied to it? I can see it now, signs on the inside of your front door saying "mind the step", office mugs with "caution: contents may be hot" emblazoned on them, kerbs painted in luminous green paint, knives with "sharp object" engraved on them, etc, etc.

We should also all be issued with full PPE, including (but not limited to) helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, steel toecap boots, gloves and goggles. In fact, I'm going to sue the council this afternoon because they haven't issued me any safety kit.

[BoRED S2upid]

otolith said:

Even if sense prevails and she loses, how much is this case costing the taxpayer?

Hoefully its kicked out of court pronto and doesn't cost us much.

You couldn't make stuff like this up. I've had a terrible accident it must be someone elses fault it just must be. I broke a rib once in an accident involving a dog and a sledge, did I sue the dog owners or pick myself up and suffer in pain for a few days.