A Guide To A £34,030 Payout For An Automatic Door Injury

The sections below will discuss a specific real-world case study for a claim. In this case, a claim for an automatic door injury that resulted in the claimant winning £34,030 in compensation. We look at why the victim was eligible to make a personal injury claim, and how a personal injury lawyer helped them to achieve a successful resolution.

It should be noted that this claim was finalised within the three-year personal injury claims time limit that applied in this case. If you have any questions about the contents of this page, or wish to discuss a similar claim you may wish to make, then please speak to our claims team on 0333 000 0729. A claim advisor will be ready to help you.

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What Is An Automatic Door Accident?

The claim that this page was inspired by, was first discussed in an article published by the Mail Online in 2013. A blind person who was injured in an automatic door accident on a tube train, pursued a claim and won £34,030 in compensation. In a similar accident, a person won £15,168 for getting their elbow stuck in comparable circumstances on a tube train. When it comes to compensation payouts, these are far from the largest. However, it does help to answer the question, how much compensation for being injured in an automatic door?

Of course, it isn’t only tube train doors that can cause an injury, there are many other kinds of automatic doors that could injure a member of the public, for example:

  • The doors of a lift.
  • Hydraulic doors on a bus.
  • Rotating doors at the entrance of a shopping mall.
  • Automatic sliding doors at the entrance to a retail store.

Any time you encounter some form of automated door, be these sliding doors, rotating doors or traditional hinged doors, they can present a hazard if they are faulty or have not been maintained properly. Anyone who is injured in an automatic door accident could be able to make a compensation claim for the harm they suffered, as long as they can prove that a third party was to blame for the accident happening.

How Could This Type Of Accident Happen?

Automatic door accident compensation amounts are driven by the severity of the injuries the victim sustains, as well as the long-term or permanent effect their injuries will have in their life. Therefore, the payout for an automatic door accident can vary greatly between different claims. The severity of the injuries will often depend on the type of accident that the victim was hurt in. Some of the ways that automatic door accidents can happen are:

  • Automatic doors that have been poorly maintained resulting in a malfunction. For example, the door closing too quickly after it has been opened.
  • The sensors that trigger an automatic door to open when a person approaches can malfunction, causing a member of the public to walk into the door as they expected it to open.
  • Physically damaged automatic doors, such as a door with cracked or broken glass, causing an injury to a member of the public.

The takeaway here should be that regardless of how an automatic door accident happened, as long as it can be proven that a third party was at least partially to blame for it occurring, then you could be able to make a claim for the harm you suffered.

What Injury Could This Claimant Have Suffered?

As we have already mentioned, compensation amounts vary depending on the severity of the injuries the victim sustained. Therefore, some kinds of injuries could attract higher automatic door injury compensation payouts than others. Some of the kinds of injuries that these accidents could cause are:

  • A soft tissue injury such as a sprain or strain.
  • A fractured bone, and this could be anything from a hairline fracture to multiple fractures or compound fracture.
  • If an automatic door closes on a person’s arm, they could suffer an Injured hand or a fractured wrist trying to pull their arm free.
  • More severe injuries could include a back injury or a neck injury, such as a break in the vertebrae.

Some injuries hurt more than others. For example, a broken bone could cause more pain than a strained muscle. The level of pain and suffering the victim is put through is one of the key drivers in calculating the amount of compensation they may be able to claim. To have your claim valued accurately, a solicitor will require you to go for an independent medical examination. The solicitor will then use the results of this examination to value your claim based on the extent of your injuries. This helps to calculate automatic door injury compensation amounts that you may be able to claim. The results can also be submitted as evidence to support your claim.

London Transport Passenger Accident Statistics

According to a document published by Transport for London, that covers the period 2016 to 2017, we find that somewhere in the region of 1.3 billion journeys were made on the tube system within this timeframe. This equates to around 5 million separate passenger journeys every single day. Across the entire year, the location of accidents was tracked, and the results seen were:

  • In quarter 1, accidents occurred at 23 different stations.
  • In quarter 2, accidents occurred at 20 different stations.
  • In quarter 3, accidents occurred at 19 different stations.
  • In quarter 4, accidents occurred at 7 different stations.

How Much Compensation For Being Injured In An Automatic Door Was Awarded To The Claimant?

The claimant in the original example was paid a total of £34,030 in compensation. This will have compensated the claimant for potentially, a number of different kinds of damages, for example:

  • General damages – for the actual physical harm, pain, suffering, etc.:
    • Pain and suffering – that the claimant went through at the time of the automatic door accident.
    • Shock and trauma – that the claimant went through at the time of the automatic door accident.
    • Psychological harm – this would include conditions such as new phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.
    • Painful recovery – if that claimant had to undergo long and painful treatment.
    • Permanent disability – if the claimant will suffer a permanent or long-term impediment.
    • Loss of life quality – if the claimant’s life is negatively impacted by their injuries.
  • Special damages – for both financial and other losses:
    • Travel costs – to reimburse you for out of pocket travel expenses that the claimant paid out.
    • The cost of care – to pay for nursing care at home if required.
    • Private medical fees – to cover the cost of any treatment that the claimant had to pay for out of their own pocket.
    • Lost income – if the claimant missed our on their pay in full or partially, because they had to take time off work while you healed.
    • Lowered future prospects – if the claimant will only be able to work at a reduced capacity in the future, or not work at all.

If you need to find out what the kinds of damages are that you may be able to claim in your own case, please speak to a member of our claims team today. One of our claim advisors will be able to assist you with this. They will also explain how we can provide you with a personal injury solicitor that is familiar with the personal injury claims process.

Automatic Door Injury Compensation Amounts Calculator

It is impossible to come up with an average compensation amount for automatic door accidents. Each claim is unique, with its own circumstances. This table below gives examples of compensation ranges, based on the UK judicial guidelines.

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You may be able to find an online personal injury claims calculator that can estimate roughly the amount of damages you could be able to claim for injuries sustained in automatic sliding door accidents. To have your claim valued more accurately, you will need to engage a solicitor to evaluate your claim for you. Speak to our claims team to find out how to go about doing this.

No Win No Fee Automatic Door Injury Compensation Claims

It is possible to minimise the financial risk associated with making an accident or injury claim, by using the services of a No Win No Fee lawyer. The lawyer will agree on a percentage of the overall claim value that they can take as a fee, and they will collect this fee automatically when they receive a compensation payment for you. At this stage, you will be given what is left over.

What this means is that you don’t have to pay any fee at all to have the solicitor start working on your claim. You also will not be charged any ongoing legal fees as the claim is being processed, even if this stage takes months. Additionally, if your claim is not successful and you do not win any compensation at all, the solicitor won’t charge you a thing.

If you would like to know more about how this fee structure works, then please speak to a member of our claims team today. One of our advisors will answer your questions for you.

How Legal Helpline Could Help Victims Of London Transport Accidents

If you have been injured by an automatic door on a train, or any other automatic door, we offer our simple three-step new claims process to get you the legal help you need right away.

  1. Call our claims team on the phone number in the section below, they will answer any questions you have.
  2. A claim advisor will go over your claim with you, and evaluate it, letting you know whether it could be valid or not.
  3. If your claim is valid, we can arrange for a solicitor to start working on your claim for you, and hopefully secure you the compensation you are entitled to.

To get your claim started, just follow these three simple steps.

Start Your Compensation Claim

Have you been injured in an accident involving automatic train doors, or any other kind of automatic door? Do you think you have a valid reason to make a compensation claim? If you answered yes, then please contact our claims team on 0333 000 0729. An advisor will walk you through our new claims process.

Related Resources

Rail Network Safety Information

Health And Safety For Rail Providers

Rail Safety Statistics

You could also check out these other guides:

Claiming For An Accident At A Train Station

Bus And Coach Claims

Supermarket Accident Claims

Case study by Mac