A recent personal injury case serves as a reminder to employers to carry out thorough risk assessments with regard to all areas of the workplace.
Marie Wallace, 64, worked as a clerical assistant at Kirkriggs School in Glasgow. In June 2007, she fell from a toilet that she was standing on in order to open the window, which was seven feet above floor level, as a courtesy to other users. Mrs Wallace, who is 5’ 1” tall, had placed her foot on the rim of the toilet bowl and was reaching up in an attempt to gain a grip on the window when she fell, landing heavily on her heel. The toilet bowl fell onto her foot.
Mrs Wallace required surgery for a detached Achilles tendon and fractures to her foot. The accident has had a significant impact on her quality of life as she continues to experience stiffness and pain four years after it happened.
She brought a claim for compensation against Glasgow City Council. The judge in the lower court ruled that no damages were payable as she should not have tried to open the window. This decision was overturned on appeal, however. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which cover a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues and apply to most workplaces, require that openable windows, skylights and ventilators should be capable of being opened, closed or adjusted safely. In the view of the appeal judges, it was reasonably foreseeable that users of the facilities might wish to open the window. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to carry out an assessment of risks to employees’ health and safety. The school should have addressed the question as to how the window in question might be opened, closed or adjusted. Had a proper risk assessment been carried out, this would have identified the risk of injury to persons of Mrs Wallace’s height should they attempt to open the window when no pole was readily available for this purpose.
Mrs Wallace was awarded £15,900, reduced from £31,800 as she was found to be 50 per cent responsible for her accident.
The Health and Safety Executive has published a short guide to the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. This is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg244.pdf. Information on how to carry out a workplace risk assessment can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/riskassess.htm.
Partner Note
Wallace v Glasgow City Council [2011] ScotCS CSIH_57. See http://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotCS/2011/2011CSIH57.html.
Wallace v Glasgow City Council [2011] ScotCS CSIH_57. See http://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotCS/2011/2011CSIH57.html.