She suffered several injuries including whiplash to her neck, damage to her ribs and blurred vision.
The woman, who was 34 at the time of the accident, went down to the basement with an empty bread tray. The stairs were made of wood with rubber strips on the edges of the steps.
However, some of the strips were missing. They had been removed after the woman had complained that they were coming loose and were unsafe.
The woman lost her footing after slipping on some metal that was exposed because the rubber strip wasn’t there. She slipped on the fifth step from the bottom and fell.
She needed physiotherapy and relied on her flatmate to help with domestic tasks. She had blurred vision for six months and suffered from headaches. She was eventually prescribed antidepress
ants and needed to see a counsellor to help with psychological symptoms. The woman brought an action against her employers saying they had been negligent in removing the rubber strips from the steps.
Her employers disputed liability but agreed to an out-of-court settlement of £47,500 to account for her pain, suffering and loss of amenities, loss of earnings, medical expenses and care costs.
Please contact us if you would like information about making a personal injury claim.