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For most of us, falling flat on our face in public would be one of our worst nightmares. It is almost as high in the embarrassment ranks as walking round the supermarket with the back of our skirt caught in your knickers or forgetting to smooth in face cream before going on a date. There are few things more inelegant than tripping before slowly toppling over to land painfully on the hard, hard ground, and not even the most beautiful of us can do it with grace.
Even famous people aren't immune to the occasional slip or a trip, although unfortunately for them, these events tend to get caught on camera. Take, for example, the show when Beyonce slid head first down a set of steps whilst dancing, or when Naomi Campbell sat down rather suddenly on the catwalk at a prestigious fashion show. Whilst it is difficult to predict when these events are going to occur, the red face that follows is not so hard to foresee.
However, whilst you may not feel too lucky to have fallen over in the first place, be glad if a red face is the only consequence of your slip. All too many people suffer personal injuries either as they fall or when they hit the ground; injuries which can make their embarrassment the least of their worries.
Fortunately, many of these injuries are only minor. Grazes and bruises are the most common personal injuries from a slip or trip and, whilst uncomfortable and sometimes unsightly, these do generally heal up relatively quickly with no permanent effects. A sprained ankle or wrist is also not unusual, and although these can be inconvenient in the short term, there is usually no enduring disability.
On the more serious side of things, some slips and trips can have lasting consequences. What may have initially felt like nothing more than an embarrassing incident could turn into the event which causes months even years of discomfort, requiring surgery, rehabilitation and repeated trips to the hospital for check-ups.
Broken bones in the hand and arm are probably the most common serious personal injuries that come out of a slip or trip on the street, because people tend to put their hand out to protect themselves from the impact, so it is this part of the body which takes the brunt of the force. However, serious trip injuries certainly aren't confined to the upper limbs; it is perfectly possible for pretty much any bone to break in this kind of incident, especially if the person who slips has osteoporosis or falls to the ground awkwardly.
Whilst many people feel that their fall was a result of them tripping over their own feet or just not being careful enough, this is not always the case. In some cases, the accident will have been caused by something slippery on the floor, a poorly identified obstacle or a badly maintained piece of road. In these cases, the slip may have been caused by negligence.
If you believe that your slip, trip or fall happened because of negligent behaviour, you may well be able to claim personal injury compensation from whoever is in charge of the land. If your accident happened in a public place, the owner will usually either be the local authority or a company that has public liability insurance.
Local authorities are responsible for areas such as pedestrianised high streets, roads, alleys, libraries and parks, whilst companies are generally in charge of specific shops like supermarkets, restaurants and banks. Larger areas such as shopping malls, theme parks and festivals are also likely to be owned by a company rather than the local authority, and will be covered by public liability insurance.
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