Edinburgh Tram Works Leads to Accident Claims

Trips and falls at Edinburgh city centre construction site

Unsuspecting pedestrians on the streets of Edinburgh have had a spot of misfortune recently after injuring themselves tripping or falling on the construction works for the city’s new tram network. According to an update from the body overseeing the tram construction, Transport in Edinburgh (TIE), £5,500 was paid out in the last year to people who tripped, fell or where somehow injured whilst crossing the road works associated with the tram tracks.

Returning trams to the streets of Edinburgh after a gap of over 50 years has been a controversial project from the start. With the costs of construction pushing the project over budget and problems with the construction companies causing delays, some people have questioned whether the project is worth the estimated cost of £510m to £600m. Whilst not in the same league in terms of the financial cost, news that several members of the public have been indirectly injured by the construction won’t help to improve the image of the project.

One pedestrian, crossing the site of the road works on a temporary walkway, fell and suffered head injuries, making a claim for £1,500 personal injury compensation, whilst another tripped and injured their selves on an uneven section of pavement. Fortunately these injuries were not serious, but never the less, the fact that they happened to members of the public highlights the risks of construction sites in urban areas.

Claiming for construction site injuries

If you have been injured tripping or falling over a defect in the pavement left by construction workers, or indeed any type of defect in the pavement, then it may well be possible to make a claim for compensation for your injuries. To make a successful tripping accident claim, you will need to identify a defect in the pavement that caused you to trip. Generally speaking, to make a claim the defect would have to be more than 1 inch deep or 1 inch high in the pavement or a walkway accessible to the public.

At Camps Solicitors, our expert accident claims lawyers can help you to make a tripping compensation claim at no cost to you. We work on a No Win No Fee basis, which means that in the unlikely event that your case is unsuccessful we will not charge you a penny. If we do win your case, all our costs are claimed separately from the money you are awarded, so you get to keep 100% of your compensation.