Butler v Grampian University Hospital NHS Trust, 2002 SLT 985
Citation: Butler v Grampian University Hospital NHS Trust, 2002 SLT 985
Rule of thumb: If you trip on a hazard on the floor in work, is this a claim? Do employers have to do regular checks for hazards on the floors in the workplace? Yes, there has to be periodic checks by management to ensure that the floor is clear of trip hazards, and if this is not done and somebody trips on this then it is a valid claim.
Judgment:
It is presumed that in a workplace people will generally be travelling faster and be more preoccupied than they would be out on the streets and paths, so walkways in the workplace do have to be in good shape to accommodate this, ‘It is in my view necessary to have regard for the purposes of the workplace Regulations as disclosed in the directive to which they give effect. The purpose, it seems to me, is to secure a continued state of efficiency. It is, therefore, in my view, a relevant averment of breach of regulation 5 to set out the circumstances supporting the conclusion at the time of the accident the workplace was not efficient from the point of view of safety’, Lord MacFadyen
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