Leaky gutters icing the public path

TheNewMe

I was walking in to work this morning and I noticed on one street that there was a lot of clear fresh ice on the ground in places. Now this street has an old but still used warehouse all along one side of the path. In some places the drainpipes empty directly on the path and the gutters also have holes in some places where they too empty on to the path.

It looks like the snow on the corrugated steel roof is heating and thawing during the day when in the sunlight and the meltwater drains to the path where it then freezes.

Two questions occurred to me while I was slip sliding away down the street:

1. If somebody walking down the street was to injure themselves on the ice could they claim negligence on the part of the warehouse owner and sue them. It's one thing not to be responsible for snow/ice that forms outside your property due to weather precipitation but allowing your drains to empty on the street seems to me to be akin to deliberately hosing down the path.

2. Are there any bye-laws which could be used to compel the property owner to maintain the property so that the general passerby is not put at risk.

Mark27

You could try and claim for negligence but it would be more to your advantage if the owner of the warehouse had been informed of the problem and had taken no steps to rectifiy the situation

TheNewMe

Fortunately I've no need to make any kind of claim and if I did would never seek legal advice here of course.

I was just thinking as I walked by that it could be one of those hidden but expensive 'cost of ownership' issues that only emerge when you don't expect them.

I guess if we're going to get more cold winters it's the kind of thing people are increasingly going to have to consider a bit more - like also clearing paths in front of ones house maybe

dermot_sheehan

A claim in nuisance rather then negligence could be made as it adversely interferes with someone's use of the public right of way.

noelo

TheNewMe wrote: »

I was walking in to work this morning and I noticed on one street that there was a lot of clear fresh ice on the ground in places. Now this street has an old but still used warehouse all along one side of the path. In some places the drainpipes empty directly on the path and the gutters also have holes in some places where they too empty on to the path.

It looks like the snow on the corrugated steel roof is heating and thawing during the day when in the sunlight and the meltwater drains to the path where it then freezes.

Two questions occurred to me while I was slip sliding away down the street:

1. If somebody walking down the street was to injure themselves on the ice could they claim negligence on the part of the warehouse owner and sue them. It's one thing not to be responsible for snow/ice that forms outside your property due to weather precipitation but allowing your drains to empty on the street seems to me to be akin to deliberately hosing down the path.

2. Are there any bye-laws which could be used to compel the property owner to maintain the property so that the general passerby is not put at risk.

In respect to what you asked, I think this country is componation and I reckon poeple should start taking responsibility for there own actions. Like why do people think when they see a hazards ,Awh I could get a few pound outta that?