Can I claim injury compensation for slipping on ice or snow?

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In winter we get many calls from clients who want to know if they can claim for slipping ice, commonly at work or while shopping. While they may have sustained nasty injuries – usually fractures to wrists and arms, or hip and pelvis injuries, does that mean they have a valid claim? This depends on the duty of care of the people or authority responsible for the area in which they fell.

It is often possible to claim personal injury compensation after a fall that wasn’t your fault and we have previously covered whether or not you may have a valid slip and trip accident claim for this. However, there is a big difference between suffering an injury as a result of negligent health and safety practices and being injured after falling due to ice or snow.

Adverse weather conditions are out of our control and present less of a foreseeable risk, hence it is harder to prove someone else is at fault for an accident. That being said, in certain circumstances there is a duty of care when it comes to ice and snow. and in some cases you may be eligible to claim.

Table of contents

When you can claim for slipping on ice at work

Employers are duty bound to provide a safe working environment and follow health and safety practices to prevent accidents at work. While icy weather can’t be prevented, employers do have responsibility to reduce the risk to workers from slipping on ice. If it can be proven they should have done more to stop such accidents happening, and you injure yourself as a result, we can help you to make a claim for a fall at work.

So what is your employer’s duty of care to prevent slips on ice at work? In the same way risk assessments are required to prevent other accidents, they should also be carried out for areas that are likely to become slippery during snowy or icy weather. This means assessing and preparing for such weather conditions, making changes to reduce risk and ensuring staff are aware of any dangers.

In some instances this may mean providing safety equipment to employees who have to work in icy conditions, but on the whole your workplace should reduce the risk of slips and falls on ice by:

  • Identifying and assessing the most used routes by staff
  • Clearing snow, gritting or salting ice in these areas within a reasonable timeframe
  • Warning staff where there is a danger of slipping on ice
  • Providing alternative, safer routes if possible
  • Allowing staff extra time to travel to and from work in extremely cold weather

If your employer hasn’t taken any action to avoid accidents in an icy workplace and neglected their legal duty of care, they can be held responsible for any injuries. If you’ve been injured after a slip and fall on ice at work and you think your employer has failed to protect your safety (with inadequate PPE, for example, or proper training for work in icy conditions) you may well be able to claim personal injury compensation. Make sure you understand your rights following a work injury, particularly if you’re still working and worried about your health.

When you can claim for slipping on ice in public

As with places of work, if you slip on ice in a public place you might be able to claim if it can be shown there was a likely risk of injury that could and should have been avoided. Such places are responsible for visitors’ safety under the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957.

For example, car parks and entrances to schools and hospitals should be cleared of snow and icy patches salted or gritted – or signage situated to warn of the hazards. Steps and platforms at bus and train stations are also subject to higher duties of care. The Health & Safety Executive outlines what should be done to protect the public from ice, frost and snow on its website.

Where there’s a risk of injury due to slipping on ice at the entrance to a shop, or supermarket, for example, the management has a responsibility to clear the ice in a reasonable time, erect a hazard sign to warn customers of a possible danger and ensure that the area is treated to prevent ice developing. If the business can be shown to have failed to take these steps, they could be held liable for injuries sustained should a customer slip and fall.

If you fall in any of these places because you slipped on ice, ensure that your accident is recorded in the accident book and seek medical attention. It is likely that we will be able to take such a claim forward for you.

Another scenario in which you could pursue a claim, albeit a more difficult task, is if you were injured in a road traffic accident on a major road and it could be proven that a local authority had failed to treat the highway in question when they should have done.

When you’re unlikely to win a claim for an accident due to ice

The same rules do not necessarily apply to all locations. For example, if you were to slip on ice in the car park of a supermarket, it is unlikely that you could hold them liable for your injuries. Whilst they would have a responsibility to ensure that the entrance area, trolley storage area and shop floor were free from hazards, it is doubtful that a court would agree they should have ensured the car park was also free from ice and fully gritted or salted.

The same applies to accidents on pavements. Local authorities have a responsibility to grit the roads and they do so in order of importance, with major routes like motorways and A-roads being prioritised over lesser roads. Pavements are generally left untreated as it isn’t really feasible to expect the local authority to have the manpower or equipment to treat all roads and pavements in winter weather.

Typically, should someone slip and fall on an icy footpath, it is highly unlikely that they would be able to prove sufficient liability against the local authority highways department responsible for the path. So in a nutshell, if you are walking on icy paths, take care – you are unlikely to be able to claim compensation for any injuries sustained.

How to prove your claim is valid

To prove a claim for slipping on ice you will usually need evidence and/or witnesses to back it up. Without evidence your slip happened, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to claim, so you’ll need to report the details of your accident to the right people.

Ideally, the accident should be recorded with the people responsible for the area in which it happened. Your employer and any location open to the public should have an accident book and a way of recording incidents. This provides evidence your injuries occurred on their patch.

In the case of a slip on an icy footpath, the matter should be reported to the Highways Department of the local authority.

If you fall in a shop or restaurant, it should be recorded in an accident book within the premises. If you can’t do that, take photos or send a letter reporting the incident to the management.

Medical evidence will also be used to value your injury claim, so it’s important to seek professional medical treatment for your injuries at the earliest opportunity.

If all this seems a bit complicated, or you haven’t done any of the above, don’t worry – if you  we can talk you through it and help you to complete the necessary steps.

Compensation amounts for injuries caused by slips on ice

How much compensation you can claim is calculated from the severity of the injury, your financial losses and the impact on your quality of life. For example, a wrist injury that has resulted in permanent pain and stiffness could amount to between £10,000 and £20,000. On top of that, a claim would include an amount that takes into consideration:

  • The pain and distress caused to you by the injuries sustained
  • Associated costs and losses
  • Lost earnings if you have been away from work as a result of the accident
  • Medical treatments, rehabilitation therapies and post accident care
  • Restrictions on your ability to fulfil your usual activities and social life
  • Miscellaneous expenses (bus fares, painkillers etc)

There are guidelines issued by the courts for solicitors, but it’s impossible to say exactly how much you can expect as all cases vary. The figures below are for the injury only, and exclude the extra considerations above, so the final settlement may be much higher.

Type of injuryCompensation amount
Neck injury£2,000 - £140,000
Minor brain or head injury£2,070 - £11,980
Finger injury£4,000 - £85,000
Wrist injury£3,310 - £44,690
Hip or pelvis injury£3,710 - £24,950
Fractured forearm£6,190 - £18,020
Permanent back injury£11,730 - £26,050
Serious shoulder injury£11,980 - £18,020
Ankle injury£12,900 - £46,980

Make a no win no fee claim

With a No Win No Fee agreement a claimant will pay nothing if their claim is unsuccessful, so you have nothing to lose and much to gain if you can make a successful claim. Only if you win compensation do you pay your solicitor’s success fee, which is usually around 25% of the total received.

If you are unsure whether or not you can claim personal injury compensation as a result of slipping on ice, the best thing to do is ask us. We’ll let you know whether or not we think you have a viable claim and if so, help you to win a settlement for your injuries, expenses and lost earnings.

You can call us on 01225 430285 or , and one of our expert team will be in touch. We’ll only need a few minutes of your time to let you know if you can make a claim. With over 28 years’ experience, you can use our knowledge and expertise to get your claim off to the best start. There is no charge for assessing your case.

148 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

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Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus slip on ice claim examples...

I had a fall on ice on friday 18th January, this was because of a leak from a united utilities tap that was reported back in July, has not been rectified spilling water onto the footpath and road.

Ian Morris

Given the fact that the cause of the hazard and your subsequent fall is an item requiring maintenance that was reported over 6 months ago, you may well have a valid claim for compensation.

We would like to speak to you further regarding your fall and need to know more about the injuries you have sustained. It would help your claim massively if you can provide evidence or supporting information regarding the reporting of the leaking tap to United Utilities last summer and if you were to also report the accident to them.

Reply

Hi there
I had a slip in work on ice in our yard 11 Jan 2018.
To cut a long story short I had an operation on my knee to repair the damage, which was unsuccessful. I had a bit if arthritis but the only option left according to the surgeon is a complete knee replacement. My firm paid me full pay for 3 months but what i am wondering is because I will have to have 8 to 9 months off for the operation, are the firm obligated to pay me full pay as it was originally started from a works accident?

Ian Morris

UK law does not require the employer to pay you in full for such a lengthy period and most employers would not pay full salary for such a length of time.

Reply

I slipped in a hospital car park where l work when l was going into work. I was walking in a path that’s designed for staff to walk on. Slipped fractured my ankle and dislocated heel. I had surgery and a still off sick. The Company responsible for gritting the place are refusing to take responsibility even though as soon as I fell, they went and gritted the path.

Ian Morris

Have you got a specialist Solicitor representing your claim? If not, you should perhaps consider speaking with an expert specialist firm, such as ourselves. With regards to your fall, is there any evidence to prove that the path had not been gritted (such as an accident book entry in which that comment is made) or any evidence to confirm that the company that has the responsibility for gritting the paths did so immediately AFTER your accident? (such as supportive witness statements or a copy of a request for them to do so following a fall?).

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I was involved in a accident 6 months ago and I am just about healing from it now. I was walking home one night and slipped on a train track crossing it was a very icy night and knocked myself unconscious on the line and a train ran over the top of me I sustained a lot of injuries and I am lucky to be alive. I would like to know if I would be able to claim?

Ian Morris

It is difficult to advise as to whether or not the cause of your slipping accident would lead to a successful claim, but given the severity of your injuries and the long term implication of this incident, it would be sensible to further investigate making a claim for you.

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As an Nhs employee we are expected to make every effort to get to our regular place of work or nearest base during adverse weather conditions. I am a community worker and not part of an emergency service. Under a red weather warning on the 1st March I slipped on the stairs when leaving my home during a fresh snow blizzard sustaining a bi malleolar ankle fracture which required surgery. I do receive my regular pay for 6 months however do I have any rights as an employee regarding injury or if I should refuse to walk to work under such conditions in the future?

Ian Morris

It is unlikely that you would be able to hold your employer liable for the conditions of the stairs at your home address and although you may be required to make every effort to get to work despite weather conditions, that is different from the employer obliging you to make it to work no matter what the hazards.

As such, whilst your injury sounds awful and painful, we don’t think that you would succeed with a claim.

Reply

Hi, I fell on ice on my way to work on the company’s property, I was off work with a full spinal whiplash for about a month. The company said as they gritted the area the night before that they are refusing liability, and that it was basically my own fault.

Ian Morris

As the employer has gritted the area the night before, they may have a defence against any claim you were to pursue, but that should not stop you from speaking with us and our expert Solicitors because there could still be a claim. As we work on a fully no win no fee basis, contacting us so that we can have a more in-depth discussion with you to find out more about the area where you fell, what gritting policy the employer has and what the weather conditions were like is a no brainer. If we can’t take this further, it would not cost you a penny and we may well be able to identify a way of pursuing your claim.

Reply

Hi i am a support worker that works in the community. Recently i slipped on snow outside a service users house and as a result have suffered a fractured leg and will be off work at least 8 weeks.
Am i entitled to claim for anything?

Ian Morris

As you may imagine, it is not always possible to claim compensation for an injury and lost income and this often applies in cases where someone is injured as a result of slipping on snow or ice.

However, we think it is worthwhile for us to investigate a possible claim for you a little further and for you to speak to our specialist Solicitors regarding your situation and the nature of your accident. It could be possible to succeed with a claim for compensation if it can be shown that your employer didn’t provide adequate warnings to community workers such as yourself or correctly risk-assess your workload given the snowy conditions.

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Going to my work as a carer, slipped on the snow and sustained injury to my foot ankle, back for X-ray on Monday, got big boot on my foot in severe pain. Can I claim against council or my work, for going out in bad conditions underfoot?

Ian Morris

It is unlikely that you would be able to hold the local authority liable for your injuries as they would not necessarily have a duty of care to remove snow or ice from public footpaths or to apply grit or salt to them either.

However, there could be a possibility of pursuing a claim against your employer on the basis of a lack of risk assessment or adequate warning to you regarding the risks and providing knowledge to you as to how to minimise the risk of injury after a slip on snow. We will not know more until we have spoken with you.

Reply

I slipped on some stairs outside the building where I live, there was ice and the stairs did not have a handrail despite being a newly built estate, the stairs are the only direct access for pedestrians to the building (which is on raised grounds) other than going a very long way round the back of the estate. My landlord insists it’s the council’s fault for not maintaining the footpath although he did mention to me in an email that the company providing the property management to our building also manages the external areas as well. I’ve had surgery and can’t work until I recover and I feel very upset that everyone seems to blame the other.

Ian Morris

Claims for compensation after injuries sustained when slipping on ice are never easy to pursue, but given your explanation of the incident and description of the site and the way it is managed, would provide sufficient merit for us to investigate the prospects of a claim for you.

Reply

I fell on a massive patch of black ice outside my local shop. I skidded tried to balance myself but the patch was too big and i ended up flying backward and landing on my back. The problem is no one saw it happen and i went straight into the shop and told them to sort it out to which they poured boiling water on it. I have been led up all day in agony as i also suffer with fibromyalgia and have problems with my L5 and my S7 in my back and the fall has cause me major pain in my back neck shoulder and legs. My partner went back to where i fell a little while later to get a picture as i was in too much pain to think about it but it had gone. Would this cause a problem if i was to put in a claim. I am also attending a doctors appointment tomorrow to be checked over.

Ian Morris

Carole

Thank you for letting us know about your accident. I hope that you are recovering well.

I would suggest that we should put your claim to our solicitors as I believe that you may well have a viable prospect of succeeding with this.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Ian

Reply
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