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21st June 2006
Ann Grayson, who is already confined to a wheelchair due to arthritis, recently suffered from a painful fall and broke her leg and her ankle. The accident was caused by a lack of disabled toilet facilities at the Virtual Ice Inline Roller Rink in Rotherham.
Mrs Grayson’s husband, Barry, manages a local roller hockey team called ‘The Rotherham Rhinos’ and she was at the rink with him when she needed to use the toilet. She made her way to the only toilet designated as being for disabled people but found that the cubicle was not large enough to accommodate her wheelchair. She had to leave her wheelchair outside of the cubicle and attempt to walk inside. As she was doing this, she fell and badly fractured her leg and ankle.
After months of pain, Mrs Grayson aged 43 decided to instruct Thompsons to begin a personal injury claim for compensation. She continued to visit the Ice Rink as normal for training sessions; however, when the owner of the Ice Rink received a letter from Thompsons Solicitors notifying him of the claim, he asked both Mr & Mrs Grayson to leave the premises.
Mrs Grayson was only trying to seek justice after a very painful injury and was devastated when she was asked to leave the Ice Rink. She said “To be victimised against in this way is completely unacceptable. It was painful enough to suffer with the injury, but then to add further insult to my injury was flabbergasting. I hope the owners of the Rink have learned a few lessons about dealing with people correctly and sensitively.”
The Disability Discrimination Act protects those who suffer the sort of treatment experienced by Mrs Grayson and places a duty on providers of services including sports rinks not to discriminate against the users on grounds of their disability and not to victimise them when they seek to raise concerns about their treatment.
Thompsons helped Mrs Grayson recover £8,500 in compensation to make up for the pain she suffered and also the injury to her feelings.
If you or someone you know has suffered from an injury in a public place, which was not your fault, contact Thompsons for advice. Telephone us on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.
To find out more about rights for disabled people visit the Direct.gov website or read one of Thompsons' publications about the Disability Discrimination Act.