£300,000 claim after fall on ice (From Witney Gazette)

£300,000 claim after fall on ice

2:29pm Tuesday 21st February 2006 in Witney By Andrew Alexander

A PLUMBER who was unable to work after he fell on ice outside his home and broke his arm has made a High Court bid for compensation of up to £300,000.

Malcolm Sargeant, 59, was unable to work for nine months after the fall, which snapped his left arm and severed the nerves which control it.

He is still being treated for the injury, and will have limited use of his arm for the rest of his life.

His solicitors have issued a writ at the High Court, in London, against Thames Water, blaming the company for failing to fix the leak, which caused the ice despite repeated warnings.

Mr Sargeant, of Witney Lane, Leafield, fell on the road after returning from work one evening in January 2003. Ice had regularly formed on the unlit village road because of a leak at the top of the lane, which first appeared in March 2002.

Mr Sargeant said: "Lots of people had called them about it, written letters, sent e-mails, the parish council and local councillors took it up, but it wasn't fixed.

"I decided I wasn't going to let it go. It's the big company against the small man."

Malcolm Sargeant, 59

"There was a river coming down the road, and when it froze, it would turn into really thick black ice, and cause chaos.

"Other people had injured themselves on it. I know several old ladies had fallen over, one old boy had broken his arm, kids came off their bikes, and the chap at the top of his road couldn't get his car out of the road because of it."

The leak was eventually fixed in March 2003, two months after the accident. Mr Sargeant, who runs his own business, slipped as he walked around his van, and the noise of his arm snapping was so loud that his wife, Christine, heard it from inside the house.

He said: "I couldn't find my arm because I'd fallen on top of it and the nerves were gone. I think I'd passed out because the next thing I knew was she had dragged me inside. And then I woke up in the John Radcliffe Hospital.

"At one point, I was going to hospital three times a week. The staff were absolutely marvellous. My arm was in a brace just hanging down at my side. I had to sleep sitting up.

"Luckily, I'm right-handed, but there's still a lot of simple things I can't do, like kneeling down or drying myself . . . things you take for granted.

"I've got to take painkillers for the rest of my life and the movement I've got now is what I'm stuck with, but I've adapted."

Mr Sargeant said: "Being self-employed, you've got to get on with it."

He is seeking compensation for his injuries and for pain suffering and loss of amenity. Although the writ does not specify the level of compensation sought, it indicates that lawyers value the claim, if successful, at up to £300,000. Mr Sargeant said: "I decided I wasn't going to let it go.

"It's the big company against the small man.

"I've dug my heels in, and I want to make them take responsibility."

A spokesman for Thames Water said he was unable to comment as court proceedings are taking place.