Caught foot on door RIPPED BOOTS - company don't believe claim!

[slayer03]

This is for my friend, she came in to work the other day and the front doors to our building are solid metal and glass doors (like fire doors) as she pulled the door it caught her UGG boot and ripped it....it also left a lovely swelling on her foot.

 

After inspection the door was viewed to have a jagged edge on the corner of the door...this would explain why it caught her boot!!

 

There were 2 witnesses to this incident, the accident book was filled in and a claim made for replacement boots.

 

 

Few days later my friend recieves an email from the landlord of the office block stating there is nothing wrong with the door, there has never been an incident in 4 years and they will not pay anything towards new boots.......what can she do PLEASE HELP!!!!

[slayer03]

see link of pic where you can see the rough edging on corner of door!

 

 

 

 

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/824/dooratwork.png/

[LaughingGirl]

I'm really sorry, but going on that picture I don't see anything on the door that's capable of ripping boots - it just looks like chipped paint. I'm not saying it's not there, just that I don't see it in that picture.

 

That's a moot point though, really. How did your friend make the claim for compensation? Did she fill in a form or write to them? If she wrote to them, can you post or type up a copy of what she wrote?

[slayer03]

Hi there, its not chipped paint its the metal of the door...i can see how you would think that however...ill try get a better picture at lunch.

 

here is what our HR wrote to the Landlord.

 

 

One of our employees suffered an accident today when entering the building via the ground floor entrance. Basically, the door, which is rather stiff and heavy swung forward as she entered and caught her left ankle, it tore right through her UGG boot ( picture attached) and caused bruising and swelling to her ankle. Her boots are ruined and she was quite upset about that as they are not cheap. On closer inspection of the door , the corner edging on the right hand side door( as you enter) is very sharp, can you organise someone to have a look at this door and rectify this as if she hadn’t had her boots on it would have been a nasty gash to her foot and I’m sure you agree we don’t want this to happen again. My other question to you, is , as a gesture of goodwill to her, would you be prepared to fund her a new set of boots ? as she is only a part time worker and I appreciate how much these will have cost her. If you can let me know, I’d appreciate it as it would be good to give her some good news.

 

This is there response:

 

xxx is away on holiday at the moment and I have just picked your email regarding the accident suffered by one of your employees yesterday. Whilst we are very sorry to hear about the incident, I have inspected the door in question and there are no defects evident to the door edge and the door itself is operating correctly. The door has been in situ and operated without incident for the last 4 years and although I can appreciate how upset your employee must be as a result of the damage to her boot, I am afraid that we are not in a position to fund a replacement pair of boots.

I presume the incident has been recorded in your accident book and it would be appreciated if you could please pass through a copy of the details for our files.

Regards

 

 

Our HR response:

 

Thank you for your response but I have to disagree, the door is very heavy and was definitely sharp on the edge, the damage to the boot clearly demonstrates that.

 

 

here are the boots.......

 

As you and anyone will know these are tough boots that would take alot to rip...

 

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/705/melsshoe.jpg/

[LaughingGirl]

Looking at the second picture, she's very lucky she had the boots on really!

 

Have they responded to the second email from your HR yet?

 

How much did the boots cost when new? I know Uggs are expensive, but I have no idea what sort of money we're talking about. If they won't go down the 'gesture of goodwill' route, I think the only recourse here is a letter before action, but that depends on whether your friend would be prepared to go to the small claims court over this.

 

They may be spooked by the 'bruising and swelling' part of the first email - if they admit their door caused the damage to the boot, they'll be indirectly admitting that it also caused the injury to her ankle. It's possible that they're worried that admitting responsibility will open them to a personal injury claim.

[slayer03]

No they havent UGGS cost £165..however she has sent this below and we are waiting there responce, have you a copy of the letter before action or a link to it?

 

 

Thank you, for your reply to xxxxx

I am very disheartened that she has dismissed the incident so easily and cannot help thinking she feels I have made this incident up. I fail to see what I have done wrong here.

As you clearly stated in your first E-mail to xxx this could have been so much worse had I not been wearing these boots and dread to think what the damage would have been to me personally..?

How would their response letter have read in that instance?

I just wanted mention when this incident happened there were two witnesses who were arriving for work at xxxx who asked if I was ok

So if it is a case that they don’t believe this incident happened I am happy to see if these 2 ladies were employees and not visitors for xxxx.Thank you

[LaughingGirl]

As far as a letter before action goes, all she'd need to do is write to them detailing the incident again, and how much she expects them to contribute to the cost of replacement boots, and giving them a set time period to respond (pretty sure a month is usual). State in the letter that if she is not happy with the response, she will proceed to small claims but don't threaten court action unless she's actually going to follow through and do it. If she's claiming up to £300, the fee will be £35 I think, but she'd need to check this.

[stu007]

Hi

 

Just a suggestion

 

Now what I would be asking is what qualification the individual has that inspected that door and for a copy of the Inspection report and Risk Assessment for these specific doors.

 

Remember this is actually a health & safety issue and they should be treating it as such.

 

Do you have any idea of the door manufacturer at all?

[Binary1]

I would tell her to persue this and not give in. I had a similar thing happen a few years ago to a leather coat. The main door to our building was very heavy and when I went through it, it closed on me and the handle caught the shoulder of my coat and ripped it. I put in a claim from my employer for a new coat and they paid up. Tell your friend not to give in, they are insured against stuff like this, and to be honest they are very lucky she had those boots on as it could have been a very nasty injury and a much higher and different claim altogether .

[slayer03]

So my friend is still persuing this with no joy, has anyone a template of a letter she can write please? its been months now

 

TIA

[honeybee13]

So my friend is still persuing this with no joy, has anyone a template of a letter she can write please? its been months now

 

TIA

 

Hello there.

 

Can you tell us what your friend has done so far please? It's hard to tell what stage this is at after all this time.

 

My best, HB

[slayer03]

Hello there.

 

Can you tell us what your friend has done so far please? It's hard to tell what stage this is at after all this time.

 

My best, HB

 

she hasn't done anything major she as constantly been sending emails to chase this and requesting an update and if the situation has been resolved.

[slayer03]

actually they are offering her part payment as a gesture of good will. (not the correct amount however) she just received this email now.

[postggj]

Hi

 

Just a suggestion

 

Now what I would be asking is what qualification the individual has that inspected that door and for a copy of the Inspection report and Risk Assessment for these specific doors.

 

Remember this is actually a health & safety issue and they should be treating it as such.

 

Do you have any idea of the door manufacturer at all?

 

I must agree on the above statement

 

For a start, is the person from the landlord qualified in health and safety legislation to come to a conclusion the door is safe and no issues are present??

 

Is the landlords representative qualified in door construction and maintenance to state there are no defects

 

Have any modifications been made to the door since the incident

 

Has the landlord carried out any risk assessment on the door since the incident

 

I am no expert on doors, but i do know a bit on health and safety legislation, if i was mapping the area during a health and safety inspection i would expect that area of the door to have some sort of rubber seal on it as it definitely has sharp exposed edges.

 

You need to remind your employer that the landlord is failing in its duty under

 

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999