Personal injury news
02/12/2011

Essex man seeks compensation for 25ft seawall fall

The family of an Essex man who survived falling 25ft from an unfenced seawall are demanding safety improvements and injury compensation from the county council.

The victim's wife was convinced he had died after toppling off the coast path at an East Mersea caravan site last August.

Instead the 57-year-old suffered a broken leg, five broken ribs, a head injury and a punctured lung – and pulled through.

The painter and decorator has been unable to work since his fall, which left one arm permanently numb.

Now Essex County Council faces pressure from the victim's family to install railings and lighting along the seawall.

"We are not asking them to spend thousands," said his wife. "It just needs railings on the most dangerous areas.

"No one is taking responsibility. We just want to make it safe. I wouldn't wish this on someone else.

A council spokesman said the solution did not necessarily lie in his hands.

Regarding the family's campaign, he said: "I will try to get them a straight answer. The difficulty is some of that route is the landowners' responsibility and other parts are the council's."

Besides appealing to local government, the victim is said to be in contact with a personal injury lawyer.

The Harwich and Manningtree Standard reports he is currently seeking injury compensation for the fall.