Golfer Sues for £50K in Personal Injury Damages Due to a Slip in the Shower
Posted: 26th July 2017
Posted in: Public Place Accidents Sporting Injuries 
The Daily Telegraph recently reported how a man sued his golf club after slipping up in the shower. It makes for interesting reading, as cases like this could have an impact on how personal injury laws are used in the UK.
Apparently the man, a Mr Avery, fell over after slipping up on a shower mat in the golf club’s changing room. He then sued for negligence asking for £50,000, with the case being on the premise that there were no non-slip shower mats in the changing rooms, and the surface floor was too slippery, meaning he fell over and ended up having to get hospital treatment for damaged ligaments.
This included him having to pay £5,000 for private medical care – all because the golf club did not have non slip shower mats installed in their changing rooms.
However, the golf club have taken umbrage with the personal injury case, and the president of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health even got involved when he questioned the validity of personal claims such as this – where in essence he said “we need to stop this where there’s blame there’s a claim culture – in particular within the no win no fee industry”.
He went on to say people need to be aware of minor hazards around them, and not feel inclined to try to get money for compensation when small accidents occur – such as this one relating to a slip in the shower. The personal injury solicitors for the golf club responded to the claim by saying over 10,000 showers were taken annually in the changing rooms, and so occasional slips were always going to happen. To quote him he said that; “When people use showers, they generally create wet surfaces which may also be soapy and/or to some extent unavoidably slippery” – not all showers are as non-slip as most, so accidents can happen.
At time of publication, the judge over-seeing the case at Lewes County Court had adjourned the case until next summer when it will be possible to make a full hearing.
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