Had an accident that wasn’t your fault? Falling down a manhole content.

I fell down a partially covered manhole on Saturday in the school car park where my son has his swimming lessons. I stood on the lid whilst putting a bag in the car boot and it flipped over. I dropped in as far as my ass and got wet feet but didn’t hit the bottom. I’ve got some cuts and bruises but I’m otherwise OK if a little shaken. If my son had fallen down it things would be different as I doubt he would have even touched the sides. Also, the lid would have flipped back so if I hadn’t seen it happen I wouldn’t know where he had gone.

I told the caretaker and between us we replaced the cover and coned it off. He was keen not to make a big health and safety deal out of it and even accused me of blowing it out of proportion and “having an attitude”, but said he would tell his boss. The manhole is on the edge of a construction site and a temporary fence straddles it, but half of it projects into the car park. The cover is a lightweight affair that can easily be kicked off, not some heavy cast iron job.

After much thinking over the weekend I have emailed the school this morning and told them what happened. I’ve told them that I’m not taking it any further but want assurance that the area has been made safe permanently by moving the fence so that the manhole is entirely on the other side of it.

I hope I don’t drop anyone in the crap, but if a child went down it I don’t want to think about what would happen.

What would you have done?

What would you have done?

Pretty much exactly what you did and in that order as well very likely. If the guy told the school then they would deal with it, but if he didn’t the cover is just likely to stay there and nothing ever done.

It may just have got pinged off by a lorry from the site passing over it. Sounds bizarre but I was riding behind a lorry on a side street once when it went over a cover and knocked it out of place by a foot. Traffic was slow so I just slowed down and I and the guy from the car behind just put it back in place. Maybe it was misfitted originally as I pass it often and it’s never happened again

I did a bilateral sprain on my ankle after catching my foot in a knacked concrete BT manhole cover. After I had already asked for it to be fixed. I used the house insurance legal cover no-win-no-fee and got £4k. Made me feel a little grubby, but it helped towards the house deposit.

Doctor said I’d have bee better off breaking said ankle, but after the WCA threads I’m not sure. Took 8 months to stop hurting.

If it had been either of the kids, a foot would have been straight through and lacerated up the calf very badly.

Please, think of the childrens’ feet.

What’s that skippy, he’s fallen down a manhole?

Same as you but I would probably also log it via the councils complaints process. That way you are mor elikely to get it formally acknowledged and responded to.

Also, the lid would have flipped back so if I hadn’t seen it happen I wouldn’t know where he had gone.

I know I shouldn’t say this as this scenario would have been terrible but, I find the thought of him completely disappearing without trace slighty comical, sorry!

I’d have cursed that no one had filmed it. Sounds like you lost out on £250 there.

Not sure there’s much else you can/could have done, maybe check they’ve sorted it in a day or so?

Seeing as you’re clearly living in a cartoon, get yourself a little sign to carry around

And for gods sake keep your eyes open for any falling grand pianos!

I find the thought of him completely disappearing without trace slighty comical, sorry!

Into a water filled hole at least 3ft deep? 😯 Maybe we just have a different sense of humour.

POIDH.

I’d have cursed that no one had filmed it. Sounds like you lost out on £250 there.

Well there’s always the option to go back and check whether they’ve fixed it yet.

What would you have done?

I thought it was mandatory in the UK to go become massively faux-outraged, head immediately to Daily Mail HQ and claim the minor, easily-resolved (non-)incident gave you and your son cancer and that you intend to sue anyone remotely implicated?

😀

Or, start a Facebook campaign – these are the ultimate way of immediately resolving every problem and issue known to man. And you don’t even need to get off your arse and actually do anything.

I find the thought of him completely disappearing without trace slighty comical

Into a water filled hole at least 3ft deep? Maybe we just have a different sense of humour

It’s all going to be ok, it’s allowed to be funny because it didn’t actually happen ..

Hmm – there’s something not quite right with this thread. Whenever I stand on something I put one leg on it then the other. Surely if the manhole was loose it would have pivoted when you put your first leg onto it? Therefore you’d still be bearing weight on your other leg and not fall down the manhole.

Weight bearing left leg went down hole. Right leg skidded forwards on grass/mud and my knee ended up under my chin. Fall broken by be ass/back and left elbow on the casing of the manhole top.

Whenever I stand on something I put one leg on it then the other.

Generally when I’m walking somewhere, I extend a leg in the direction of travel with a view to imminently transferring body weight onto said limb for the purposes of load bearing. Have you had much experience in this area?

(please gods don’t tell me you’re in a wheelchair now, or I’m going to feel a right arse.)

There does need to be some middle ground between doing nothing and full on ambulance chasing lawyer attack mode.

I think what you’ve done is pretty reasonable. Sometimes it takes someone having a relatively minor incident before anyone is aware that a problem exists. You’ve made the right people aware of the problem. If they make it safe then I’d leave it at that, if not then I would consider some sort of legal action even if only to spur them on a bit. Could always donate any money received to an appropriate charity if you feel uneasy about profiting from it.

Could always donate any money received to an appropriate charity

For just £10 per month you can stop three children from disapearing down a manhole. Think of the children. Donate at

http://www.stopachildfallingdownahole.org.uk

Cougar – observation not a strong point of yours?

I stood on the lid whilst putting a bag in the car boot and it flipped over

Also – as a physio I know plenty about ground reaction forces. 😀

Donate at http://www.stopachildfallingdownahole.org.uk

😀

Should have seen that coming!

Cougar – observation not a strong point of yours?

Walking / standing, you still put weight on your leg. Otherwise we’d all just have the one.

Also – as a physio I know plenty about ground reaction forces.

Botheration. (-:

Cougar – observation not a strong point of yours?
I stood on the lid whilst putting a bag in the car boot and it flipped over
Also – as a physio I know plenty about ground reaction forces.

Like it bloody matters. I opened the boot of the car and stepped out of the way to prevent the up swinging lid hitting me under the chin. In the action of stepping out of the way I placed my left foot onto the manhole cover which flipped over causing me to fall in a sitting motion down the hole.

What scared me was the fact that if my lad had been in front of me rather than behind he could have stood on it first, and with him being only 5 years old he isn’t sufficiently big for his ass and elbow to stop him going straight down. If he had been 10ft in front of me with the car in the way and I wouldn’t have seen it happen.

Anyway. Who do I sue? I want a 08 plate 2.2L diesel SAAB 95 estate in powder blue with leather seats and low mileage. But I’ll settle for somebody moving the fence so that kids can’t stand on wobbly temporary manhole covers.

But I’ll settle for somebody moving the fence so that kids can’t stand on wobbly temporary manhole covers.

I refer to to my earlier advice.

would probably also log it via the councils complaints process. That way you are more likely to get it formally acknowledged and responded to.

If you are really concerned, copy your local councillor into the complaint, that is what they are there for, to represent you.

…after catching my foot in a knacked concrete BT manhole cover. After I had already asked for it to be fixed

An injury due to natural selection.

I have searched the net for you and having read the comments towards the bottom of this website they will help you. By all accounts they specialise in people falling down / into a man hole.

http://accidentclaims.org/

I’m not claiming. That was the point of the post before it went off at a tangent. I just want it to be made safe and the only way I could be sure was by bringing it to the attention of the school and potentially dropping somebody in it (not the hole). 🙄

I was wondering what others would do.

I’d have done the same, and made it clear that I wasn’t looking to sue or kick up a fuss but it really was a dangerous situation.

They do actually exist, despite what the DM common sense folk would have you believe.

Just look at the damn website!!!! with a helpful comment like they have on it I was laughing more than thinking about claiming

That can’t be real and even as viral marketing it has to be borderline between bringing people in and making them run

But funny, oh yes

By all accounts they specialise in people falling down / into a man hole.

And rereading your post the clue was there as well – applauds

I did a bilateral sprain on my ankle after catching my foot in a knacked concrete BT manhole cover. After I had already asked for it to be fixed

Proving a point then were you?

got bored with the thread reaction but OP i think you did the best thing under the circumstances

Dealt with the situation, removed th eimminent danger, moaned in a nice way to prevent it happening again, MTFU and started a thread on STW

Could have been much worse

Anyway. Who do I sue? I want a 08 plate 2.2L diesel SAAB 95 estate in powder blue with leather seats and low mileage.

Would you settle for a Vauxhall Vectra?

Wouldn’t the pan on his head have caught on the edge, preventing him from falling all the way in?

Wouldn’t the pan on his head have caught on the edge, preventing him from falling all the way in?

Nah, he took that off once he’d worked out how to use a screw driver.

HtS – I’d do the same as you, good on ya.

TS

My father had a similar incident on a badly fixed and non-guarded manhole cover, feel down it enough to smash his shin badly.

He was a lot less active after that accident and it was the beginning of his health starting to falter, and eventually death. Seems a long stretch but it all fits in.

What if it had been an older person who had fallen and broken their hip – quite a high percentage of older people die within a year of doing that.

Basically it was not a trivial matter and the caretaker needs an attitude adjustment, not you.

I can’t offer any helpful advice but I fell down a man hole type thing at work once. It was very odd – I put my foot on it, but the cover was loose so flipped up (kind of how you describe I guess), but my other leg was still on terra firma. The hole was exactly the right depth for my my foot to hit the bottom without causing me any damage.

I pulled myself out and then me and the colleague who witnessed the event spent the rest of the day giggling about it (and he still hasn’t let me forget about it…)

Sounds like you got it about spot on. Many would have taken it to court.
Budget cuts in education eh?

The caretaker should have entered the details in the accident book a legal document,that can be used ina court of law.

Imagine if the hole was full of water and a child drowned in it.

Youve reported it to the school how about the site manager and head of H AND S at the company responsible.

Is it a LA school, a trust school or PFI.Either one they have public liabilty insurance for accidents and idiots who cant ensure hazards are securely fenced and signed.