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Faulty Automatic Door Injury Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation? – How Much Can I Claim?

By Olivia Friar. Last updated 7th June 2021. Welcome to our faulty automatic door injury claims guide.

Have you suffered a faulty automatic door injury due to a malfunctioning sliding door? Whether this happened in a lift accident, a hotel accident , a supermarket accident or otherwise, if the accident was due to inadequate maintenance or unsafe manufacturing, you could be eligible to claim compensation for your suffering?

This guide shall explain what you may need to know if you are looking to make such a claim. Included below is guidance on what safety standards there are for such doors, as well as injuries that could be caused by an accident with an automatic door. You will also find information about how to go about making a claim, and how much compensation could be appropriate for injuries relating to this type of accident.

If you would like further guidance or help making faulty automatic door injury claims, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can reach the Legal Expert team on 0800 073 8804.

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A Guide To Making A Faulty Automatic Door Injury Claim

faulty automatic door injury claims

faulty automatic door injury claims

Welcome to our faulty automatic door injury claims guide.

Automatic doors can be found in a variety of places, such as offices, hotels and shops. While they make entering and leaving places easy, if they malfunction in some way, they could cause injuries ranging from cuts and bruising to serious injuries such as amputations.

If you have suffered an injury due to a faulty automatic door, you may be wondering whether you could claim compensation. In this guide, you could find the answers to questions, such as:

  • An automatic door hit me at work, who could I claim compensation from?
  • How much compensation could I receive for my injuries?
  • Do I have to pay upfront for assistance from a personal injury lawyer?

We will also discuss the safety standards relating to automatic doors and how maintenance and servicing plays a part in keeping these doors safe for those who use them. Also included below is information about how we could help you claim compensation for an automatic door injury.

What Is A Faulty Automatic Door Accident?

Before we look at faulty automatic door injury claims, let’s look at what these types of accidents could look like.

Convenient and easy to use, automatic doors can be found in many different places, such as supermarkets, retail outlets, office buildings, hotels, cinemas and restaurants, to name but a few. They are usually in operation for long periods, to allow people to pass through, but this constant operation means they could break, making regular maintenance and servicing necessary.

If there is an error in manufacturing such a door, or the proper maintenance and repair are not conducted, it could lead to a faulty automatic door accident. Whether you have been trapped in a door that was closing, or hit by a door that was opening, the force of the mechanism and the weight of the door could cause injuries. If you have sustained injuries from automatic doors that were not manufactured, maintained or repaired appropriately, you may be able to claim compensation.

Powered And Automatic Door Safety

Next in our faulty automatic door injury claims guide, let’s look at powered and automatic door safety.

There are several responsibilities that parties responsible for commercial/industrial premises have. One of these is the safety of those using their premises, and this includes entering and leaving. If a person responsible for the premises finds that a door is not working properly, it is their responsibility to make sure that the door is not used until such time as it can be serviced or repaired.

They should also ensure that the doors are maintained according to the instructions of the manufacturer. Those responsible for premises should also undertake regular checks as to the safe operation of their doors. If any work needs to be done to install, maintain or repair such doors, they may require the use of a competent contractor to make sure this is done correctly.

A competent contractor is one that understands the risks pertaining to powered doors, as well as the law concerning the supply of the doors. They should install the doors in line with the manufacturer’s instructions, and check and adjust them where necessary to make them safe.

For more information on faulty automatic door injury claims, please read on.

What Safety Requirements Are There?

According to the HSE, safety requirements for powered doors mean they should be:

  • Properly designed with consideration being given to the environment they are to be used in, whether vulnerable people would use them, their intended use, and the potential for misuse.
  • Manufactured and put together to the required legal safety standards.
  • Supplied with documentation that includes the instructions for use.
  • Installed and maintained properly by a competent contractor.
  • If in a workplace, inspected and maintained for safety, or if in buildings such as residential complexes, meet safety standards for persons that are not employed.
  • Checked and maintained, adjusted and repaired to ensure on-going safety.
  • If found to be dangerous, immediately prohibited from use until safety concerns have been eradicated.

Please continue reading to learn more about faulty automatic door injury claims.

Liability For Accidents And Injuries In Automatic Doors

If you have been injured by a faulty automatic door, you may wonder who could be liable for your door accident claim. This could depend on the reason for the fault in the automatic door. For example, if the failure of a premises owner to properly arrange for someone to service and repair a door led to your faulty automatic door injury, this could lead to them being held liable for your claim.

If you’re unsure who could be responsible, one of our knowledgeable advisors would be able to assist you.

What Is The Machinery Directive?

The Machinery Directive is an HSE-issued directive covering the safety of machinery at work. This includes automatic powered doors. Within the Machine Directive, automatic doors must be safe for employees and visitors and operated safely. This would mean they would have to be maintained in accordance with manufacturers guidelines.

If you were injured in an accident work due to machinery that was not to the standard required within the directive, you could potentially hold your employer or the premises owner liable. To learn more about how you could be able to make faulty automatic door injury claims, please continue reading.

UK And European Regulations Relating To Automatic Doors

There are a variety of regulations surrounding the operation of automatic doors. These include:

  1. BS EN 16005 – This is a European standard that is, effectively, the code of safety that covers automatic doors used by pedestrians. All doors of this type installed from April 2013 are required to comply with these standards.
  2. BS 7036 – This British standard was superseded by BS EN 16005. However, doors installed before April 2013 would be required to comply with parts 1-5 of this. It provides guidance on the provision, safe operation, safeguarding, installation and maintenance of powered doors.

Whatever standard applied to the door you were injured by, if poor manufacturing or maintenance led to you suffering a faulty automatic door injury, we could assess your case to see if you could be eligible to claim compensation.

Hand And Wrist Injuries In Faulty Automatic Door Accidents

A hand injury or wrist injury could be considered a common consequence of an accident in an automatic door and could give you grounds to make faulty automatic door injury claims.

Your upper limbs could be the first line of defence if you feel that you are going to be hit by a door, and if you put your hands out to stop a faulty door from closing, it could be that your hand or wrist becomes caught or even crushed. This could not only cause fractures but could also lead to damage to nerves and tendons in the hand and wrist. In severe cases, crush injuries could lead to amputation.

Whether your fingers were caught in a door that malfunctioned, or your hand was trapped or crushed, if someone else could be held liable for your automatic door injury, you could be entitled to compensation.

Back And Spine Injuries In Faulty Automatic Door Accidents

If there was an impact from an abrupt closure of an automatic door, it could cause a person to fall over and give them grounds to make faulty automatic door injury claims.

Depending on how badly the injured party fell, they could suffer injuries ranging from bruises to severe spinal injuries. If you have suffered a back injury, even if it feels only minor at the time, it could lead to continuing pain and suffering over time. Back injuries could also prevent you from undertaking physical activities and could affect your ability to work.

Whether you suffered a minor or severe back injury from a faulty automatic door, claiming compensation could mean you could claim for loss of earnings and physiotherapy costs as well as receiving compensation for the suffering and pain of your injury. We’ll come to this below.

Nose Injuries Caused By Faulty Automatic Door Accidents

As a prominent feature of our face, the nose could also bear the brunt of automatic door accidents and give you grounds to make faulty automatic door injury claims if injured.

While a broken nose may not seem like a serious injury to some, it would certainly cause pain and could cause breathing issues, which may need surgery to fix. If you have suffered a nose injury due to negligent automatic door safety, whether due to a manufacturing error or poor maintenance of the door, we could help you claim compensation for your injuries.

Traumatic Head And Brain Injuries Caused By Faulty Automatic Door Accidents

A head injury could also occur in an accident with an automatic door. The mechanisms in some of these doors could be considered quite forceful, and if your head is hit with enough force, it may leave you with more than just a headache. If you have suffered a heavy blow to the head due to a faulty automatic door, this could, in severe cases, lead to a traumatic brain injury.

Faulty automatic door injury claims could compensate you for any ongoing care you may need if you suffer such an injury, as well as compensating you for the damage you’ve sustained.

Traumatic Amputations Caused By A Faulty Automatic Door Accident

There are two types of amputations that might occur due to an accident with an automatic door. One would be if a crush injury led to a limb or digit not being able to be saved. This would be referred to as a surgical amputation. However, if a door closed with enough force, it could potentially lead to a traumatic amputation to a person’s digits or limbs at the scene of the accident.

Whether your faulty automatic door injury has led to you losing a toe, finger or limb, this could be devastating to deal with. While compensation would not cancel out the loss of a body part, it could go some way towards helping you to move on after such a devastating accident.

To learn more about making faulty automatic door injury claims, please read on.

Foot Injuries Caused By Faulty Automatic Doors

Other injuries from automatic doors could include a foot injury or a toe injury. If your foot or toe has been caught in a faulty automatic door, it could lead to a wide range of issues that could have a marked effect on your life, both in the short term and the longer term. Broken bones may restrict your ability to walk for some time, for example, while complex crush injuries may even lead to you losing your toe or foot if it cannot be saved.

If you have suffered foot or toe injuries due to a lack of proper care and attention to automatic door safety by a liable party, you may be able to claim compensation.

Faulty Automatic Door Injury Claims Calculator

Next in our faulty automatic door injury claims guide, let’s look at the amount of compensation you could be entitled to.

A common question that often crops up with accident claims is ‘how much compensation could I receive for my injuries?’. Unfortunately, you would not be able to get an accurate sum from a personal injury claims calculator, as all claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis. This is because they all have their own unique set of facts.

As part of any personal injury claim, including faulty automatic door injury claims, the injured party would have to submit to a medical assessment with an independent medical expert. Your medical notes would be reviewed, and you may have to be examined so that your injuries could be confirmed. The expert would then write a report detailing your condition and your prognosis. This would be used to hone in on a more precise value of your claim.

We understand that this may be frustrating to some people. Therefore, we have decided to offer you some insight by way of a table containing what the Judicial College Guidelines say would be appropriate for specific injuries. This is a legal publication that is used by solicitors and the courts to give estimates of the compensation that could be appropriate for certain injuries. We have chosen to include figures that we believe could relate to injuries from automatic doors.

If your faulty automatic door injury isn’t included in the table below, we could give you further insight over the phone or via the live chat on your screen. 

Updated June 2021.

Edit
Injury Notes Guideline Compensation Bracket
Effective or total loss of one hand Injured parties who have suffered a severe crush injury to the hand where it required surgical amputation, or where all of their fingers have been traumatically amputated could have their injures valued in this bracket. £90,250 to £102,890
Serious hand injuries The function of the hand could be reduced to around 50%. Injuries causing gross diminutions of dexterity and grip could be included in this bracket. £27,220 to £58,100
Amputation of ring and/or middle fingers Leaving the hand with little use. Grip would be extremely weak £58,100 to £85,170
Less serious hand injuries Significant crush injury where significant disability remains despite surgery, or without future surgery being required. £13,570 to £27,220
Moderate leg injuries Where severe crush injuries to a single limb have occurred, or multiple/complex fractures. The impact on the injured party’s employment, the amount of scarring, and the risk of degenerative changes could be included in considerations when valuing such injuries. £26,050 to £36,790
Severe toe injuries Severe crush injuries usually leading to the amputation/partial amputation of one or two toes (not including the big toe). Bursting injuries and wounds producing significant symptoms that continue could also be placed in this bracket. £12,900 to £29,770
Serious toe injuries Serious big toe injuries or serious crush injuries/fractures to 2 or more of the toes, leading to some permanent disability. £9,010 to £12,900
Mental anguish Fear of impending death. £4,380
Less Severe Brain Damage Good recovery and return to work possible. £14,380 to £40,410

Special Damages For Door Accidents And Injuries

You may also claim for special damages as part of your faulty automatic door injury claims. These damages are meant to compensate you for any financial expenses and losses you may have incurred due to your injuries. They could include:

  • Travel expenses – If you travelled to medical appointments or for a meeting with your lawyer, the travel costs associated with these journeys could be included within your claim.
  • Medical expenses – If you have incurred costs for prescription medicines, physiotherapy or counselling, for example, as a direct result of your injuries, these costs could also be claimed for.
  • Loss of earnings – Unfortunately, with some injuries, you may be unable to work as normal while you recover, and you could lose out on income because of this. Loss of earnings could be included within your claim. For those with serious injuries preventing them from returning to work, future loss of earnings could be claimed for.
  • Care costs – If your injuries meant you could not take care of yourself properly, you might have needed someone to care for you. Care costs could also be included within your claim as special damages.

It is crucial that you can evidence the costs you are claiming for as special damages. Items such as bills, receipts, payslips and even bank statements could be useful, so it could be a good idea to keep them safe so that they could be provided to your lawyer to be included in your faulty automatic door claim. If you cannot provide proof of costs and losses it would be unlikely that you’d be able to claim for them.

No Win, No Fee Faulty Automatic Door Injury Claims

Are you interested in getting legal help to make faulty automatic door injury claims?

If you would like a personal injury solicitor to assist you with your claim but are concerned that this might mean paying out a large amount of your own money up front to retain their services, you might be relieved to know that there is a way you could benefit from the assistance of a personal injury lawyer without paying them upfront.

With No Win, No Fee claims, you would not be asked for any payment in advance of your claim, or throughout the claims process. Instead, you would be provided with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to sign. This is a document that would promise your solicitor a small, legally-capped success fee once they have secured a compensation payout for you. This success fee would be deducted from your award. If your lawyer didn’t obtain a compensation settlement for you, you would not have to pay their success fee or cover their costs in pursuing your claim.

This option could provide the financial confidence you may be looking for to pursue your claim. If you would like to know where you could find a lawyer working on this basis, we could connect you with such a lawyer. Should you have any questions about No Win, No Fee accident claims, we would be glad to answer them.

To learn more about how to make faulty automatic door injury claims with help from our team, please read on.

Why Choose Our Team?

Interested in seeing how Legal Expert could help you make faulty automatic door injury claims?

We know that claimants have many options open to them when it comes to making a claim, but we feel that we are in a position to provide a service that helps take the stress out of making a compensation claim. Not only could we provide you with answers to questions relating to your case for free, but we could also offer a free case check to see if we think your claim could result in compensation. If we believe it could, we could provide you with a specialist personal injury solicitor with the capability to fight for the maximum compensation possible for your case.

We have helped many claimants successfully claim compensation for their injuries, and many of our clients have rated our service very highly, complimenting our professionalism and empathy. We’d be glad to provide you with a service that really does take the stress out of making a claim and helps you to claim the compensation you deserve.

Start Your Faulty Automatic Door Injury Claim

It’s easy to get help with faulty automatic door injury claims when you work with Legal Expert.

You can get in touch to ask questions or start a claim on 0800 073 8804. If you prefer, you could get in touch via email instead at info@legalexpert.co.uk instead. We also have a handy live chat feature on the site, or you could complete the contact form, which can be found here, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We look forward to helping you with your claim.

Faulty Automatic Door Injury Claims FAQs

Is there a time limit on injury claims?

Yes, personal injury claims have a time limit of 3 years, which is typically effective from the accident date or the date of knowledge.

What can you claim compensation for?

There are two types of damage you could be compensated for as part of a personal injury claim; general damages (for physical or psychological harm) and special damages (for financial shortfall). However, you’ll have to be able to evidence any damage in order to be entitled to claim for it.

How do I claim for injury?

If you’re interested in making a personal, please get in touch with our team at Legal Expert today for a free consultation.

Essential References

Crushed Hand Injury Claims – This guide covers crushed hand injury claims. If you have been injured in an automatic door accident and suffered this type of injury, this guide may be useful.

Claiming For Accidents In Hotels – If you have been injured in an accident with an automatic door in a hotel, this guide may be of interest to you.

Supermarket Accident Claims – If your faulty automatic door injury occurred in a supermarket, this guide may offer some useful advice.

HSE Automatic Door And Gate Safety – This page gives an overview of safety considerations relating to automatic powered gates and doors.

FAQs Regarding The Safety Of Powered Gates/Doors – Here, you can find answers to common questions regarding powered door and gate safety.

HSE Safety Report – Automatic Lift Doors – This case looks at fatalities relating to the failure of a lift door in an elevator.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

Thanks for reading our faulty automatic door injury claims guide.

Written by Jeffries

Edited by Billing

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      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.

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