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Personal Injury Responsibility

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debz1203 | 21:21 Thu 30th Aug 2012 | Law
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Hi,

I wonder if anyone can advise...a gentleman had delivered a letter to my property and left it half out of the letter box and on realising he had delivered it to the wrong address he later returned to remove the letter and on leaving my front porch the slab on the step (which was cracked) wobbled or fell off its plinth and he slipped he hurt is ankle.

To set the scene, my house has a small porch which has two steps up to the door, the first of which is a concrete plinth with 2 slabs and this is on the public footpath. One of these slabs was cracked and has been for as long as I have lived here but unknown to me it was also loose...I never use the front door and nobody (postman, etc) has ever mentioned it or fallen to my knowledge.

How would liability be determined in this circumstance?

Thanks in advance for any help.
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Part 2! Digested my above debz? OK let's crack on.
(a) The step/plinth in question is on a public footpath so unless your property deeds state that you have SOME PARTIAL responsibility for it, the responsibility lies with the Public Highways Authority not you! We can ignore complications of who built the plinth and which came first: plinth or public...
20:58 Fri 31st Aug 2012
solvitquick I have a degree in Inorganic Analytical Chemistry (University of Hertfordshire 1974) but just as in your case no legal training at all. Having a degree does not make you an expert in all other subjects. If I answer a 'law' question it is based on my expierience alone , I do not claim to be superior because I have a degree.
I challenge you fred and boxtops and your ilk to address debz's specific "case" and give her a no "ifs or buts" answer to the question "What are the percentage chances of this issue ending up with debz1203 in Court as a defendant". Bet you both you can't answer with arithmetic answer.
Mine remains "0%".
Dear Debzy,
Please read above in detail, discuss with friends and family and DO NOTHING ELSE except relax and sleep happily.
Love whoever you are.
SIQ xxx
Question Author
Thanks guys, all very useful and provided "food for thought"! Apologies if I started something...but I am only after opinions and guidance and all contributions are valued and appreciated. Thanks for your contributions one and all! =D
personally i thought boxtops answer was very clear and easy to read, not to mention useful, lacked self importance and loads of extraneous waffle which seem to be fairly obvious in other posts.
Nonetheless, i hope nothing comes of it debz xx
Thanks bednobs - I don't have to justify my academic qualifications but suffice to say that I have them, and one doesn't need a PhD to manage liability claims.

The statement about my trying to avoid claims is a load of rubbish, I didn't work in an insurance company but in a high risk industry so I'm extremely familiar with claims procedures (which haven't changed in the intervening years).

Of course much of what we say is from personal experience, which is why there are caveats on some of the threads saying "whatever you read on here shouldn't preclude you from taking proper legal advice". Some people's arrogance on this thread is mind-blowing.

Debz, I hope nothing comes of it - but if you do nothing else, as I suggested do write it all down now, just in case you need a record for future reference.
ageed
Bednobs (RGN, BSC (Hons) Dip HE, milk monitor, blackboard monitor (1984))
Sorry Boxtops and FredPuli for my rudeness - just frustrated by experts' quoting general law rather than addressing debz's specifics. Qualifications comments including my own were to illustrate scepticism of experts and justify all ABers to advise based on experience and common sense - my real justification for advice. If you all read my "challenge" to Boxy and Fred, it was really an appeal to their genuinely relevant expertise to use it and give debz1203 a specific judgement in arithmetic % analysis of the chances of this going to court. So far no answer! Dase dismissed!
solvit

Perhaps boxtops & fred didn't answer your challenge because they realise it is pointless? Neither you nor they can give a meaningful answer without full knowledge of the facts of the case, which no-one on here can have. I assume you are a betting man, which is why you were so confident to quote a figure.

For me, the most important point to come out of all this verbiage is that debz can't really know who is responsible for the step. I don't agree with fred that it must be her - it may be that the builder put it there with permission on the basis that the houseowner was responsible for it, or it may be that he just did it & no-one on the Council noticed, in which case I would argue the houseowner may not have liability. This needs to be sorted out with the Council.
Dear themas,
I am not a betting man in the sense of addictive to gambles but I like the odd punt on football out of pocket money. Without realising it, you may have hit on a good point. Experts like Bookmakers and Professional
Poker-Players rely on predicting odds without knowing FULL circumstances and profit from it, Hence claims insurers and lawyers should be able to give a percentage answer to this SPECIFIC case instead of spouting General Legal Law - the latter is available to us all if we could be bothered. No, they will not rise to the appeal/challenge because their "expertise" has taught them to keep their heads down until the results are obvious to the man on the Clapham Omnibus or any taxi-driver!
p.s. There are only two card-games of skill (expertise): Poker and Snap.

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