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Scotland is possibly more prone to extreme weather than the rest of Britain, and often the climate it experiences is much worse. The western Highlands is one of the rainiest areas in the UK according to the Met Office; receiving an average of 118 inches of rain every year and the snow can also be extreme. As such, Scottish accident claims are sometimes caused by prevailing weather conditions.
Common accidents during icy or snowy weather tend to take place on the roads when drivers lose control of their cars, or cannot see the route ahead clearly enough. Some accidents are more unusual, however, such as an individual suffering personal injury after snow falls on them from height. Occasionally if a roof is not strong enough, too much snow will cause it to collapse which could seriously harm anyone inside the building.
Heavy snow on the roof
There is a danger with sloped roofs, or in strong winds, that snow or ice will fall onto a victim below. Some stories over the years have reported snow falling on a car and shattering the windows in the US, a young individual in Scotland damaging their back very badly when they were hit by snow from a nearby building, and a large amount of snow sliding off the roof of a bank in Edinburgh – narrowly missing people below.
Physics shows us that objects in freefall will continue accelerating until they reach terminal velocity. Terminal velocity is the maximum speed an object falls at after wind resistance acts to keep the fall at a constant speed.
Taking this into account a relatively small amount of snow and ice, depending on the height of the building, could do just as much damage to someone as a large amount. Naturally many situational factors will mean that the exact force of impact when the snow or ice reaches the ground is likely to vary greatly from one incident to the other, nevertheless, being careful around snow-covered buildings may be wise.
In some cases it is not the people near the building who are in danger, but those inside it. More often than not, the building is old, or not meant to be inhabited, like a farm-shed, but even these can contain cattle and maybe the farmer, or employees who might make a Scottish accident claim.
It is not only old buildings or those used to store things that are in danger of having their roof fall in under the weight of snow. In 2010 one of the top supermarket chains in the UK experienced the collapse of a canopy roof on one of their shops during trading hours. Luckily, at the moment of destruction no one was underneath the structure.
Removing snow from a roof
If the individual does not think they are physically fit enough, removing snow from a roof should not be attempted. Asking for someone else's assistance or calling the relevant authority is likely to be a better option.
Pitched roofs can generally hold a larger weight of snow without risk of collapse than flat roofs, but most of the time, the biggest danger when people have large amounts of snow on their roofs, is rain. Snow sucks up water like a sponge and can become much heavier as a result. If someone has a lot of snow on their roof and then it rains, there may be a danger that the saturated snow will be too heavy a load for the roof.
Making a snow-related Scottish accident claim
If you have suffered a personal injury at home or an accident at work which was not your fault and for which someone may be found liable, then you could claim compensation for pain, suffering and loss of earnings experienced.
YouClaim have a team of no win no fee solicitors who are experts in their respective fields and are ready to help you. In all cases we will try to find you a solicitor who lives in or near your area and our services in your Scottish accident claim won't cost you a penny.
As well as that, should your claim be successful, then you will receive 100% compensation because we don't take a cut from your remuneration.
So, to find out if you could make a claim today, simply fill out our short online claim form or talk to one of our advisers using live help.
