Accident Injures a Blind Man and His Dog

John Cooper and his guide dog, Faith received a nasty shock when they fell into a three foot pothole two weeks ago. They were walking down Gateshead Road in Hertfordshire where a pothole was left open without barriers when the incident happened.

Due to the lack of barriers, Faith missed the hazard. While she is trained to recognise signals such as cones and barriers she was unable to prevent Mr Cooper from falling into the open pothole.

The pair both suffered minor injuries and discomfort after falling into the hole which was full of sewage. Mr Cooper says he feels lucky not to have been more seriously injured.

The accident comes just weeks after a partially sighted man, 93 year old Jack Gardener, received £8,500 compensation after experiencing a similar accident in the same area.

Mr Gardener tripped on an uneven paving stone in Shenley Road, after which he suffered injuries and pursued an accident claim against Hertfordshire County Council.

Mr Cooper’s accident is believed to be the fault of engineering company Balfour Beatty, who were carrying out engineering work at the time. Balfour Beatty are carrying out an investigation into what happened.

Mr Cooper spoke of his and Faith’s experience:

“I went to A&E and had to have injections for tetanus and diphtheria. It is not life-threatening and I will recover, but I have leg injuries, cuts and bruises. We had to take Faith to the vet. We have been together for five-and-a-half years and have not had an accident before.”

Carys is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.