London and Birmingham based solicitors specialising in Personal Injury & Accidents at Work, Education, Disability and Crime

Mr F worked as a self-employed farm worker. His work included looking after a herd of cows. One day, he was in the yard collecting the cows from the collecting area to take then into the dairy for milking. As he was walking across the farm yard he slipped and fractured his ankle. The reason why he slipped was disputed. The owners of the farm said that there was nothing wrong with the farm yard and that it can be expected that animals will make a mess and that the yard would be slippery. However, whilst the concrete floor was in good condition, there were some old railway sleepers, once used as part of the construction of the wall of the barn, which were embedded in the concrete. The sleepers had not been removed when the old barn was taken down. They had been there for many years. Over time the end of the wood had become polished and slippery. We argued that the floor was not suitable (in breach of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations because the wooden beams were slippery and should have been removed. The insurers for the farm settled without admission of liability for £12,500. They also paid all Mr Fs legal costs.