Compensation for Being Injured Walking Into Automatic Door

Is it possible to claim for being injured walking into automatic door which did not open? My elderly mother has poor eyesight and bruised her nose and fractured her hip when she fell. Does this count as personal negligence or can an automatic door injury claim be made?

Question:

Is it possible to claim for being injured walking into automatic door which did not open? My elderly mother has poor eyesight and bruised her nose and fractured her hip when she fell. Does this count as personal negligence or can an automatic door injury claim be made?

Answer:

Being injured walking into automatic door is a valid reason for making a claim for personal injury compensation, provided that the door was faulty and a suitable warning sign was not displayed prominently to warn of a fault and direct the public to other exits and entrances. If a sign had not have been placed on the door, visitors would be unaware of any fault and would therefore be at an increased risk of an accident and sustaining an injury.

An injured walking into automatic door compensation claim may however be contested by the property owner or his insurance company as part of the defence against the claim. A common defence against an injured walking into automatic door claim is that the injuries sustained were due to personal negligence of the victim. Even though property owners have a responsibility to ensure that automatic doors are operational and safe, or that faulty automatic doors are cordoned off , it could be argued that, if a victim had been paying attention, they would have not have attempted to walk through a closed door.

Store owners need to be particularly careful to ensure that all members of the public can use the premises safely and without risk of injury, which includes people with visual impairment. The public should be alerted to faulty automatic doors, and warning signs need to be highly visible to ensure that the risk of an accident is reduced to the minimum possible level. The property owner could be deemed to have been negligent by inaction if the door was not operational and the public were not warned, and if this can be proven, an injured walking into automatic door claim will be possible and should have a good chance of being successful.

All shops, supermarkets and buildings open to the public are required to purchase liability insurance to cover injury claims such as automatic door compensation. It is also a legal requirement for an Accident Book to be kept on site, where injuries to staff and the general public can be recorded. The accident and your mother’s injuries should be noted in the Accident Book in order to support an injured walking into automatic door claim. The accident book is a permanent record of health and safety onsite, and will be used by a personal injury solicitor as proof that the accident took place. Medical records are also used as proof of injury, which is why a doctor must be consulted after an accident. In the case of your mother’s accident, provided that her injuries were diagnosed and treated at hospital, her medical records will have been updated with her injuries.

Since automatic door compensation claims are frequently contested, we recommend speaking with a personal injury solicitor for legal advice. A solicitor will be able to determine if the circumstances of the accident will make it possible that injured walking into automatic door compensation claim can be made. A solicitor will prepare the strongest possible automatic door injury claim against the negligent party’s insurance policy, and will push for the maximum injured walking into automatic door compensation to be awarded to cover treatment, loss of amenity and future risk to health from your mother’s fractured hip.