A university employee, who sustained an articular cartilage injury after slipping and falling on a wet floor at the University of East Anglia, has been awarded £50,000 in compensation for a knee cartilage injury.
The employee – identified only as Ms Turnbull (48) – slipped on rain water that had been walked into the corridors of the building in which she worked at the University of East Anglia in December 2008. She was diagnosed with an injury to the articular cartilage over her femoral condyle which prevented her from painlessly descending stairs and from pursuing leisure activities such as swimming and walking her dog.
After undergoing an arthroscopy procedure on the injured knee, Ms Turnbull learned that the cartilage was irreparable, would continue to deteriorate and that a knee replacement operation would be required within the next twenty years. Ms Turnbull consequently sought legal advice and made a claim for knee cartilage injury compensation against her employers.
IN the claim, Ms Turnbull alleged that the University of East Anglia were in breach of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 for failing to provide and maintain safe access to her place of work, and had also allegedly contravened the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 by failing to identify a risk of slipping and install absorbent mats or a non-slip floor surface in areas prone to becoming slip hazards in wet weather.
The University of East Anglia admitted their negligence and liabilities for Ms Turnbull´s injury and, through their liability insurers, agreed a settlement of compensation for knee cartilage injury amounting to £50,000.