Serena injury highlights danger of accidents in public places

Serena injury highlights danger of accidents in public places

Serena Williams’ tears following her first-round victory at Wimbledon this year were a sign of her relief at returning to competitive action after a year plagued by injuries.

Last July, the defending Wimbledon champion stepped on some glass when leaving a Munich restaurant, lacerating a tendon which put her out of the sport for 11 months.

No win no fee solicitors Claims Direct can help you make a personal injury claim if you have suffered an accident in a public place through no fault of your own.

Evidence

As Serena’s case illustrates, you should try and get evidence of your injury if you suffer an accident in or near a public place like a restaurant, shop or bank. 

Ms Williams told USA today that after feeling pain in her foot, she thought that she had stubbed her toe. She said: “Then my practice partner put a cell phone down to the floor so we could see, and there was a huge puddle of blood.”

It seems that the tennis legend might have been a little slack in gathering evidence about the origins of the injury – something which is understandable given the amount of pain she must have been in.

Witnesses

The USA Today article mentions that Serena still does not know how the accident occurred. There is also no record that any witnesses saw the injury occurring – if you do suffer an injury it can be useful to your compensation claim if you make a note of the name and contact details of witnesses to an accident.

Accident book

If you do suffer an accident in, or just outside, a public place such as a restaurant it is also advisable to report the accident to a member of staff. Doing this can ensure than an accurate record is kept in the accident book that service providers are obliged to keep.

Advantages of making a claim

All these steps can help prevent a similar accident occurring to another person as it is likely that the responsible party will have to make changes to their health and safety practices. This is also one of the main advantages of making a personal injury claim.

Medical help

After Serena suffered the injury she went to an emergency room in Munich where she had X-rays and received 18 stitches. Seeking immediate medical help is absolutely the right course of action as it will ensure that the rehabilitation process can start as quickly as possible.

Walking boot

In Serena’s case the rehabilitation process was long and slow and she had to use a walking boot for several weeks.

She said: “I hated that boot. I plan to use it for target practice for my serves.”

Loss of earnings

The Grand Slam winner must also have lost a lot of money as she was unable to accrue tournament prize money during her absence.  

Loss of earnings is even more of a problem for people without Serena’s sizeable income. Personal injury claims can help compensate you for loss of earnings; they are intended to put you in the position that you were in before you had your injury.

Winning return

Rehabilitation after an accident can be arduous but Serena has proved that it can be done. Although she failed to defend her Wimbledon title, she came from behind to win her first and second round matches!

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