Grandmother could lose her home after postman tripped up

[TrueBlueTerrier]

£68,000 compensation bill: Grandmother could lose her home after postman tripped up outside her front door

A grandmother could lose her home because the postman tripped outside her front door.

Colin Hatch, 41, claims he was frightened by Pauline Little's growling dog and caught his foot on a cracked paving stone as he fled.

He suffered a serious knee injury when he tripped and was forced to retire for health reasons. Although he has made a 'very good recovery' and is working again in a different job, Mr Hatch has successfully sued care assistant Mrs Little, 61, and she faces having to pay him up to £68,000 in compensation and costs.



She says she has no savings and will have to sell the semi in Billingham, Teesside, where she has lived for 20 years. Since the £80,000 property was bought with a substantial mortgage, even after losing her home Mrs Little could still owe tens of thousands.
When her son found out about it he accompanied her to Middlesbrough County Court this month only to discover the judge had already ruled in the postman's favour in an uncontested claim.

The judge will make a final decision next month on what she must pay Mr hatch, who is claiming £34,000 compensation and the same amount in legal costs.

To add insult to injury Mrs Little insists Mr hatch is wrong about the circumstances of his accident. On the day of the incident she was staying with her dog at her daughter's house as she was recovering from a broken ankle, she said.

Relatives are now desperately trying to raise at least £6,000, the minimum amount necessary to hire a solicitor and attempt to appeal against the judge's decision.

At the time the postman was injured, Mrs Little had let lapse her buildings insurance policy, which includes public liability protection. She was off work with a fractured ankle and was receiving only £275 a month in pay.

'Family helped me out, but I had to pay the mortgage because I couldn't risk losing the house,' she said. 'There was simply no money left for insurance.'

Mr Hatch said in a statement that he was delivering leaflets to Mrs Little's house in June 2007 when he heard a dog growling. He knew she had two 'aggressive' border collies and was worried the other one might come for him too (Mrs Little said her collie Jake was her only dog).

He then caught his foot against a cracked paving stone: 'Momentum kept my knee going forward and I felt something go in my knee.'

A specialist diagnosed a torn ligament and Mr hatch had keyhole knee surgery. Unable to walk long distances, he left the Royal Mail in August 2008 on health grounds, but got a job working as a handyman on less pay.

Asked to comment on Mrs Little's problems, he said: 'It has been three years and the other day when she turned up in court was the first time she has responded to this. She has never responded to any of my solicitor's letters.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0u8WhX0sL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lounge Lizard]

Is it just me, or do grandmothers look a lot younger than they did many years ago ?

[Stormproof]

The estate I live on I bet there are some 30 year old grannies

[POSTMAN]

The estate I live on I bet there are some 30 year old grannies

Nuffin wrong with young grandparents.

[Stormproof]

But you ain't 30

[Thunderthighs]

This must be an urban thing...As the Woman who's dog attacked me was also "recovering" from an illness too, ( Do you think they know each other?) Funny that...

Also claims her "little darling" is not aggressive, so why did she ask me months before NOT to put mail thro the door, as "the dog destroys it" ?
This is the non-aggressive dog that a few yrs back, jumped up, snatched a parcel from my hands, and destroyed it in front of my incredulous eyes!

Other posties got similar experiences, but according to her letter,
I'm " A Liar and Fraudulent Opportunist..."

Aren't our customers bloody Wonderful ?!

[andy2007]

If what she's claiming is true, then why didn't she respond to any of the Solicitors letters?
If neither her or her dogs were there, then she should have said so earlier. Not go running to the Press, because the consequences of her lack of control over her Dog(s) have become clear.

No sympathy for her at all. Hopefully it'll be a cautionary tale for others, who think that they can just ignore their responsibilities, and let innocent Posties have thier health and careers ruined!

[Lounge Lizard]

If what she's claiming is true, then why didn't she respond to any of the Solicitors letters?
If neither her or her dogs were there, then she should have said so earlier. Not go running to the Press, because the consequences of her lack of control over her Dog(s) have become clear.

No sympathy for her at all. Hopefully it'll be a cautionary tale for others, who think that they can just ignore their responsibilities, and let innocent Posties have thier health and careers ruined!

That's right "the judge had already ruled in the postman's favour in an uncontested claim", so she did not contest that she was at fault, so she was at fault.

[johnsouthwales]

no dog attacked him causing to 'flee'.

he says he heard a growl.... where was the growl coming from? outside or inside? could have been next doors dog as far as anyone is concerned.
what postion was the dog exactly in?

maybe she was anxious about the solictors letters, like some people put off a red bill due to lack of money etc or simply fearful...until it was too late.

as for the tripping, if he walked off steadily he ,ay have been ok... then again most pavements are in a worst state than the cementing area on view so where is the risk factor when assessing council land ie pavements. there is no sudden depth to tread into unless there was a complete gap prior. there could be a very slight lip which we cannot see, as that photo does not give an indication that it was taken at the tie as there is no sign of weathering to the new cementing.

if there was no cementing at all in that gap, leaving a deep void, surely the postman knew about this, and forgot it was there when fleeing.

if there was a viod, he would have twisted his his ankle quite badly as there would have been a 100mm hole to fall into and gone arce over elbow, rather than a sudden sharp injury that causes ligament injury.. maybe he had a dodgy knee for quite a while and the path aggravated it further

if a person falls over a council paving stone, the law says that stones are legally allowed to protrude one inch. try suing the council...

it has been suggested by someone in the replies forum that the postie saw a get quick rich opportunity.

accidents sometimes are caused by unforseen circumstances. a tragedy on both accounts

[andy2007]

If what she's claiming is true, then why didn't she respond to any of the Solicitors letters?
If neither her or her dogs were there, then she should have said so earlier. Not go running to the Press, because the consequences of her lack of control over her Dog(s) have become clear.

No sympathy for her at all. Hopefully it'll be a cautionary tale for others, who think that they can just ignore their responsibilities, and let innocent Posties have thier health and careers ruined!

That's right "the judge had already ruled in the postman's favour in an uncontested claim", so she did not contest that she was at fault, so she was at fault.

If she was innocent, she would have contested it, wouldn't she?
I realise that (as John pointed out) some people put off dealing with difficult situations like Solicitors Letters. But considering that she'd let her Home Insurance lapse. Surely she'd have gone to the CAB for advice, even if she couldn't deal with it herself. After all, she must have known that any compensation claim would be expensive. There's enough about them in the Press.

And what about the Postie?
Is a Judge going to rule that he should make a miraculous recovery, and have no further long term problems. And get his job back at RM, rather than do a less well paid job?

[Thunderthighs]

My "incident" doggy, chased me thro their front garden, then onto a busy road.

But, according to the dog's owner...Never happened.

Ever...

[johnsouthwales]

the law says that if a claim goes uncontested or if the defendant does not reply or show up at a hearing, it automaticaly gets awarded to the complainant.

probably the county court papers were in her unopened mail. it is possible that she didn't know at the time that there was going to be a case at all and didn't even realise a claim was being sought.

it leaves RM own insurers into question - if any incident occured whilst in the line of duty, wouldn't it be rm insurers that pay out for sustaining an injury?
after all, the postie was in line of duty at the time, was in line of duty when he heard a bark, was in line of duty when he stumbled, and in line of duty when he sustained the injury.

if a postie on a cycle sustained an injury by a pothole and ruptured a similar knee ligament injury, who claims against who? normally a private motorist claims against the council for a damaged wheel etc and a job and a half, the council do pay out. if a works van sustained damage, same thing.. private vehicles driving on a public road.

entering a property is exercising reasonable care. also, exiting a property exercises the same reasonable care.
what if there was no dog, and the postie was looking at the next mail to deliver after posting through her letterbox and stumbled on the same lip of concrete whilst reading the next address? or actually posted the mail and proceeded to exit without reading anything and carried on walking looking straight on...

would rm not pay out on their policy because a posty should recognise the safe exit from a dog bark and felt threatened? maybe they'd say the postie retreated too fast in haste.. if there is going to be an appeal, he is going to be asked these kind of questions..

if there was a hole where the previous concrete had been, maybe a cover could have been placed, but the postie could easily have slipped on the duckboard causing more of an injury than a bare gap in the first place.. if there was a gap, it would have been better to fill it in with chippings or earth

[johnsouthwales]

how many posties here have fallen into a hole while on duty and not sustained an injury?

how many posties off duty have fallen into a hole and not sustained injury?

different people sustain different injuries, and accords to height and weight.. some people may fall into the same hole and not feel a thing, some mild discomfort
.
walking off a pavement. some people sustain some discomfort when unfortunate to catch the road and send a sharp pain on the heel which shoots upwards up the leg.

sad situation on both sides. and maybe all because of a dog that may not have been there at all. someone may say, if it wasn't for the junk mail he was delivering, it wouldn't have happened and he would not have had a reason to be there. but it could have just have esily been legitimate mail

[the_slave_has-landed]

Good Luck postie. Only then will the messgae get across to the numpties with tender/cute/harmless dogs. How many times do we hear when a kid gets mauled that the Rottweiler was a little darling and would not hurt a fly? I have a soft as boots Jack Russell thats a woos but STILL would not leave him alone in a room with a child.
Many dogs dont like posties and some public find it very funny. It aint, so if your dog attacks, take it on the chin when you get sued or get insured.

[johnsouthwales]

but there was no attack in this case. does a growl constitute as an attack? all everyone can see is that there was a growl - and in the other side, no dog was there at all as the dog was reputed to have been with her elsewhere.

all the postie has said he heard a growl.. there is no reference to the wherabouts of the dog... and this is something a defence solicitor will bring up.

not all cases are exactly the same, and have to be taken on each individual merit.

nobody is laughing or finding it funny. dog attacks are serious. viscious attacks are the extreme. a growl can be startling to anyone, or could be taken as a threat of an attack. but a growl is not an actual attack.. dogs growl in defence or offense. dogs bark and dogs growl, it's their nature.

maybe it be good if she can appeal and the truth comes out, and find out exactly what went on and where.

it's an unusual situation where two parties give different versions. it could have been next doors dog as far anyone is concerned. i doubt anyone will have the time to ascertain at a particular moment in time who's dog it is, and when a dog growls, is a growl such a serious threat as to flee and stumble.

momentum kept him going which suggests he had delivered the letters or just about to and got startled and legged it, and when he rushed away, two steps away and his foot unfortunately caught the gap. a gap usually causes a trip or a stumble or the front part of the foot goes into the hole first, unless the heel went in first and jarred the knee.

what are the chances of this happening? something happened it obvious. actually, it is more likely to tear a cartilage walking up and down steps, as that is a constant momentum day in day out