Slipping on an icy road or pavement can be annoying. Or it can be deadly. If you're lucky, you might get up with just a bruise or a wet coat. Sometimes it can mean weeks or months off work.
Questions often arise about compensation for the consequences of winter accidents and who pays the bills.
Yle asked Kaisa Laine of the Finnish Financial Ombudsman's Office (FINE), an independent expert body that helps with disputes in insurance, banking and investment matters, for some answers.
FINE also deals with cases where slip-and-fall victims are not satisfied with the compensation they receive from liability insurance.
1. Who is responsible?
Under Finnish law, the owner of a property is responsible for the maintenance of the yard, the path leading to the yard, and the pavement in front of the building.
In winter, this means, for example, snow clearing and sanding. The pavement should not be slippery.
"Streets belong to the municipality, but the property owner is responsible for the maintenance of the pavement. This is unless the municipality has taken over responsibility for the maintenance of the pavement, which it can of course do by law," says Kaisa Laine.
The property may be owned by a housing association, a real estate company, a municipality or a private individual. Claims for compensation should therefore be directed to the municipality if the slip occurred on a site for which the municipality is responsible for maintenance, and to the property owner if the property owner is responsible for maintenance.
2. Who pays?
In general, both companies that own property and, quite often, municipalities have taken out liability insurance.
The slip-and-fall victim therefore claims compensation from the owner of the property, who then files a claim with their insurance company.
"The insurance company then determines whether a liability has arisen. In other words, whether the property owner has taken sufficient care of his obligations. If there is no liability insurance, the claim is settled between the parties involved, that is, the victim and the person responsible for maintenance," explains Kaisa Laine.
3. When is compensation due ?
The obligation to pay compensation arises when it can be shown that the person responsible for maintenance has failed to do the job. The insurance company makes an assessment of whether maintenance has been adequate.
"If, for example, it is known that the temperature is about to rise from a minus reading to above freezing, meltwater will easily form and it can be very slippery. In that case, the slipperiness should be prevented in advance," Laine notes.
The insurance company assesses whether or not the anti-slip measures have been adequate. If it is concluded that have not been and liability arises, an assessment of the compensation due under the terms of the Tort Liability Act is initiated.
Liability insurance includes a deductible for the policyholder. In other words, when a slip-and-fall victim receives compensation, the payment is minus the deductible. If the victim wants the full sum, the difference has to be claimed directly from the property maintenance provider.
The obligation to show due diligence is higher than in the past, but the liability is not absolute.
"Absolute liability would mean that if someone just slips, then that's that, you pay. But that's not the case," points out Kaisa Laine.
However, the onus is on the person responsible for maintenance to prove that it has been done properly.
In practice, it is required to keep some kind of maintenance logbook. It must show, for example, when snow has been removed and when surfaces have been gritted.
4. What kind of compensation is paid?
Compensation is paid in accordance with the Tort Liability Act. The scale can range from the cost of cleaning a dirtied jacket to damages for permanent disability.
A person who has slipped and fallen is entitled to compensation for medical treatment and other expenses incurred as the result of an injury. Loss of earnings compensation is also possible if the injury causes incapacity for work.
"If you are unfortunate enough to suffer permanent health consequences, you can even get compensation for permanent injury," Laine explains.
Compensation for non-material damage includes payments for pain, suffering, and other temporary inconveniences.
5. How much compensation can you get?
There are no legal limits on the amount of compensation for non-material damage.
The standards and guidelines of the independent Traffic Accident and Patient Injury Board and the recommendations of the Justice Ministry's Personal Injury Commission are used to determine the amount of compensation.
For compensation for permanent disability, assessments are based on a scale included in the national Workers’ Compensation Act.
Torn clothing or a dirty jacket are considered property damage. There are specific provisions for these.
"Something such as a laundry bill, for example, is also compensable and can be the subject of a claim," Kaisa Laine says.
6. Remember your own insurance
Kaisa Laine urges always remembering your own insurance. It may provide better coverage than the building company's liability insurance.
By law, liability for compensation is, in principle, based on public sector costs. This means that you cannot normally be reimbursed for private healthcare services.
"Of course, you can never obtain reimbursement for medical expenses from more than one source. Compensation for permanent disability in private accident insurance, is a fixed sum payment. It is the contractually agreed amount of compensation for permanent injury and does not reduce the compensation paid under liability insurance," points out Kaisa Laine of the Finnish Financial Ombudsman Bureau FINE.
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