£40,000 in compensation for 73 year old, partially disabled local lady, following incident at a local leisure centre

Our team of personal injury lawyers, here at Nash & Co, acted for a partially disabled client, with a longstanding back condition, who was involved in an accident at a leisure centre, where she attended regularly to use the swimming pool.

Mrs K’s Injuries

Mrs K was a regular attendee at the leisure centre and would attend several times a week to use the swimming pool. In October 2019, on one of her usual visits, she asked to be lowered into the pool with the hoist as due to her long-standing back condition, she could not use the steps to enter the pool. She was placed into the pool uneventfully and had her swim. She then asked the pool attendant to hoist her back out so that she could go out to shower and get changed.

The hoist was lowered by the pool attendant and Mrs K sat in the chair of the hoist and strapped herself in. The pool attendant started to pump the hoist, to raise Mrs K from the water but as she did so, the chair suddenly collapsed, plunging Mrs K underwater.  As the chair hit the water, Mrs K was thrown out and as she hit the bottom of the pool, she was trapped under the chair. Mrs K was also struck on the head by something heavy, believed to be a metal bar from the hoist, which had fallen into the water.

Mrs K managed to free herself and get to the top of the water where she rested her arms on the side of the pool. She was lifted from the pool by several pool attendants.

The Settlement

Mrs K instructed Nash & Co to pursue a claim for damages on her behalf. In addition to physical injuries which she sustained, she also suffered a significant increase in psychological problems and anxiety.

Mrs K’s husband had noticed a significant change in her personality since the accident and described her as being much more irritable. He had also noticed that she did not want to leave the house and go out.

Following submission of the claim to the Defendant’s insurers, liability for Mrs K’s accident was admitted.

Medical evidence was complicated by Mrs K extensive pre-existing conditions, but orthopaedic evidence confirmed an exacerbation of lower back problems and a soft tissue injury to the neck. It also confirmed a significant blow to the head with ongoing headaches being reported. Neurological evidence was obtained which recommended a neuropsychiatric evaluation due to pre-existing difficulties experienced by Mrs K and the reported change in her personality since the accident.

The neuropsychiatric evidence confirmed that Mrs K had developed PTSD, a relapse of a depressive disorder and a mild traumatic brain injury. During the examination she displayed clear symptoms of PTSD including nightmares, flashbacks and hyperarousal in the form of panic, startling reaction, sleep disturbance and increased anxiety, with the anxiety manifesting as agoraphobia.

A number of recommendations were made by the medical expert, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprogramming Therapy. A request was made for an interim payment from the Defendant’s insurers, which they agreed, in order that Mrs K could have the recommended treatment.

The medical evidence was that with treatment, Mrs K would return to her pre accident condition.

Following psychological treatment, Mrs K was able to return to a different leisure centre where she continued to undertake swimming activities, which she had very much enjoyed prior to the accident.