Judge throws out injury claim after schoolboy is hurt at Waterworld
A SCHOOLBOY who suffered a bruised foot after stepping on pebbles on a walkway at Waterworld has been told he will not receive any compensation for his injury.
Jack Hales was walking towards a slide at the indoor water park when he felt a sharp pain in his left foot. He looked down to see three or four pebbles on the floor, Stoke-on-Trent County Court heard yesterday.
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ACTION: Waterworld was taken to court.
Jack, who was 10 at the time of the incident in February 2009, suffered soft tissue damage to his left heel and was in plaster for two weeks after doctors mistakenly thought he might have chipped a bone in his foot.
Solicitors representing Jack, now aged 14, took Waterworld 2000 Ltd to court after claiming staff had not done enough to keep visitors safe at the time of the accident.
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They claimed the pebbles had been on the walkway for more than two weeks but had not been spotted or removed by staff.
But in throwing out the claim, district judge Glynis Crowe said she was satisfied the company had maintained its duty of care.
Staff logs read to the court showed walkways had been checked for debris every half hour on the day of the accident, and no problems had been reported.
It is not certain where the pebbles came from, but it is believed they had become dislodged from a nearby ornamental crocodile built two-and-a-half weeks before the accident.
“The main issue is whether the accident occurred due to what has been described as a want of care by the defendants,” said Judge Crowe. “The defendant said the facilities were checked on an hourly basis by the duty manager, and every 30 minutes by supervisors.
“There were also 16 lifeguards on duty at the time, whose duty it is to make sure the floor area was tidy. On the balance of probabilities the pebbles had not been on the walkway for more than two weeks as suggested by the claimant.
“The tiles are quite light in colour, so they would have been quite easy to spot by staff.
“I find the pebbles were deposited close to the time of the claimant’s accident, but it is impossible to say by what mechanism. I’m satisfied the defendants have discharged their duty of care.”
She added: “It’s unfortunate that the claimant suffered the injury but the defendants are only bound to do what is reasonable.”
If the claim had been successful, the company could have had to pay out up to £1,500 in compensation to the teenager.
Speaking outside court, Jack’s mum, Maxine Hales, who lives in Belmont Road, Etruria, said: “The pebbles shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
Comments
by ashvaliant
Thursday, October 25 2012, 9:50AM
“Brilliant, love this backlash from the judges throwing out these spurious claims. Just need to see a toughening up from the insurance companies now because their loss adjusters never try and protect the companies they represent, just roll over and have their belly's tickled.”
by I_Troll
Thursday, October 25 2012, 9:34AM
“Spaced out, ah well. Nice try.”
by I_Troll
Thursday, October 25 2012, 9:33AM
“£££££
K
E
R
C
H
I
N
\ G /
\ /
\ BIN /
\ /
\_____/”
by PlayboyLeaLea
Thursday, October 25 2012, 12:25AM
“i slipped and fell over at work earlier on, WET FLOOR SIGN.... was my fault, am i gonna sue work? am i hell. my fault, all i'm gonna get is a bruised knee and hand how i landed.my fault for not wearing proper grip shoes...”
by warren-lloyd
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 4:02AM
“Hear comes old Mr. Thirty odd votes, talking his normal rubbish.”
by DTrotter
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 8:42PM
“Strange that they new the pebbles had been there for 2 weeks but stepped on them anyway LOL...”
by mole10
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 5:22PM
“The arrow police are out in force on this one.
I see alll the time in this newspaper of claims against a cracked pavement and potholes.
All are freaks of nature and all are culpable because that is not part of the script.
Employers have employees insurance and public liability.
Not because they want to, but because it is the law (40 years worth of records kept is the law).
A wet floor in a supermarket is liable. Maybe not in a swimming pool.
Rubble on a building site is acceptable with exceptions but rubble in a swimming pool is not.
No payout for the lad, not because it didn't happen, but because it wasn't serious enough.
Evidence suggests that the inspection of the pool was absolutely perfect.
Not according to the facts and only according to a written record of events.”
by james208
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 5:14PM
“jack and his mummy should look very clearly where they are walking.Don't walk on the beach because there are many pebbles. Check for pebbles and dog poo in Belmont road and keep away from the corporation tip. Who advised mummy to sue? Good judgement Glynis: sorry Judge Crowe”
by hemmo2008
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 4:01PM
“mummy was trying it on the judge should have ordered costs against them thats not a 10 year old claiming thats a greedy parent taking the p......s wasting our tax payers money greedy cow”
by sausagelord
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 3:09PM
“"If (IF) he had slipped on the rubble and cracked his skull was hospitalised in intensive care, I wonder how the Judge would have reacted."
I love the realm of "what if?" Let's face it that if we all could claim for people who "nearly" killed us by driving badly or we could claim for accidents that "could have been more serious", we'd all be millionaires!
Here's the truth: The lad got some bruising from stepping on a pebble or two. Nothing more serious. He should have chalked it up as a lesson to look where he's treading and move on!
Just like that woman t'other month trying to claim for an accidental trip should have, this lad should share some of the blame because we all have a personal responsibility to look where we're heading. The world is a big scary place and occasionally there are objects in places we don't expect to find them - rubbish on the ground, objects falling out of the sky, even in the home where objects can fall out of a pocket or roll off the sideboard.”