Edinburgh lawyers secure compensation for injured mother

A mum was awarded £25,000 in compensation after she visited a health clinic for a routine check on an injured foot – only to slip on their wet floor and break the same foot in two places.

Denise Bowie was using crutches when she entered a healthcare practice for a follow-up appointment after having a bunion removed.

However, she was unaware the floor of the clinic was wet and tumbled – landing on her already-injured foot.

Denise said: “I went into the hospital and my crutches went flying and my non weight-bearing foot went down.

“My foot broke in two places and it had to be re-broken and re-set in plaster.”

The tumble left Denise suffering permanent stiffness, loss of function and has been left walking with a limp. It also resulted in the need for surgery and additional healing time which forced the mother to stay off work for eight months.

Medication she was prescribed to help with the pain of the injury and surgery also led to Denise developing a debilitating bowel and liver problems.

Denise was also restricted to the ground floor of her house and became dependent on family, friends and neighbours for help with simple tasks like housework and shopping.

She added: “It was a nightmare. I couldn’t manage the steps so I had to move downstairs in our house. I couldn’t even make myself a cup of tea or take my daughter to school, sleeping was terrible.

“Thankfully I have terrific neighbours, family and friends who all stepped in to help with housework, taking my daughter to school, walking the dog and so on.

“It was a hellish time and I couldn’t see it ending, it was a constant battle – between crutches, plaster casts, physio, surgeries it took four years to heal and there’s even talk about a fourth surgery.”

Denise was advised to contact Digby Brown by a friend who was also a lawyer – she then picked up the phone a short while later after hearing one of our radio adverts.

Our expert personal injury solicitors in Edinburgh pursued the case for compensation against the Healthcare practice on the grounds that the clinic did not have appropriate signs in place to warn of the wet floor.

They initially agreed to settle but only on the condition Denise accepted she was 75% to blame for her fall – an argument known as contributory negligence – or “contrib” – which, if accepted, would force Denise to also have 75% deducted from her compensation.

This offer of 75% contrib was refused so they made a second offer of 50% – this was also rejected, as was a third suggestion of 40% contrib.

Instead, Digby Brown raised a court action and went on to secure a final settlement for £25,000.

Denise said: “I was just a number to them but they needed to take responsibility for what happened as it was my life, and my family, that was impacted.

“One of my very good friends is a litigation lawyer and she said I should do something about it and recommended Digby Brown.

“Digby Brown was reputable and clearly knew what they were doing. My solicitor Tahirah was just fantastic, from start to finish.

“I’m very happy with the outcome Digby Brown achieved for me – the compensation won’t change my recovery but it did mean they took responsibility for their negligence.”