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When it snows in the UK a number of things happen; small children build snowmen, larger children have snowball fights, elderly people stay indoors, the public transport system and road network infrastructure grinds to a halt, and for some organisations the fear of a work accident forces them to shut their doors.
In early 2009, countrywide snowfall forced two days of school closures as town halls and local councils took the decision to keep children off school.
At least 8,000 schools were closed at one time, around one in three, according to The Daily Mail. In some areas local authorities took unilateral decisions to close schools, while in some cases the decision was left to the individual head teachers.
Parents' groups condemned the action; one member of the lobby group Parents OutLoud said, "I suspect officials have over-reacted because it's more than their job's worth. We should take some of the over-cautious and bureaucratic nonsense out of this."
However, the general secretary of The National Association of Head Teachers said, "If you stay open and somebody has an accident you are quite likely to face litigation. I can personally attest to that."
He added that a previous school he worked in had promptly received a solicitor's letter regarding a child's personal injury accident after they slipped and fell on a snowy day. A teacher or other employee could also take the same action if they felt the school was responsible for their injury, as could a parent.
Parents in the London Borough of Wandsworth were told by their council, "In most cases frozen playgrounds mean it would be too dangerous for children to attend school."
If a school tries to clear snow and ice using grit and the resulting slush refreezes, they could be held accountable if a child should slip and injure themselves on the altered underfoot conditions.
A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said, "Legislation makes it very difficult for us when it comes to cleaning and gritting footpaths.
"If we try and clear footpaths and someone slips we are liable. If we leave it to clear naturally we're not liable. When I owned a newsagent's in Leyland our insurers were quite explicit with us that when it snowed we were not to go out and clear the footpath outside the shop.
"If I go out and change the road conditions and someone slips those road conditions are my fault."
Work accidents and compensation claims with YouClaim
If you have gone into work on a snowy day and had an accident on the premises, you may be able to make a work accident claim with YouClaim. Our friendly and knowledgeable advisors are waiting to talk to you about your compensation claim on our free UK helpline: 0800 10 757 95.
Our dedicated personal injury solicitors have years of experience in dealing with accident at work claims. We have already helped many people get 100% compensation and, as we operate on a strictly no win, no fee basis, you can be sure you will never be charged for our professional litigation services.
Call our helpline now or you can request a more convenient time when we can call you back. Alternatively, fill in the online claim form and we will look into your work accident claim before we call you to discuss it further. Above all, at YouClaim we are here to help.
