Personal injury solicitors have helped a nail technician to gain £87,000 compensation after she broke her ankle in a fall at a Bournemouth restaurant.

The then 39-year-old victim, from Ensbury Park, had been going to lunch at the Urban Garden restaurant and bar in Exeter Crescent.

As she and her boyfriend went outside to dine in the garden, she stumbled on an uneven step.

She fell, snapping her left tibia.

In great pain, she was taken to hospital.

Since then, she has had four operations on her injured ankle.

She had to use a wheelchair for four months and was off work for nine months.

Years after the accident, she has been still unable to do high impact exercises or to go for long walks.

The accident also had an impact on her mental health.

Before her fall, she had been experiencing anxiety and had been taking anti-depressants.

After the accident, she became anxious about going out alone as she feared falling over. and would go out only with family members.

She also worried about using stairs and would avoid them wherever possible.

At least two years after the accident, she was still in pain and was still anxious about it.

She worried whether the pain would worsen in the future.

With the help of injury lawyers at Dorset law firm Coles Miller Solicitors, she sued Urban Garden for compensation, claiming:

• the step was defective – it was not level
• this defect was a danger – the step’s rise did not comply with safety guidelines
• there was no warning about the danger posed by the step and the unlevelled ground.

She further claimed that the defendant had:

• failed to carry out an inspection which would have identified the defect
• failed to identify the defect as hazardous and take remedial action to reduce the risk of accident
• failed to ensure the step was constructed according to BSI regulations which state the rise should be no higher than 225mm
• failed to warn the victim of the hazardous condition of the steps
• provided the victim with a means of access that was unsafe, a danger or a trap.

The defendant initially denied liability but then offered £50,000 in compensation.

The victim, now aged 42, declined that offer but agreed to a settlement of £87,000.

She was represented by Crispin Cormack, Coles Miller’s Serious Injury Paralegal, who is based at the firm’s Fleetsbridge office in Poole.

He said: “Accidents such as this show how even a simple fall can lead to severe and very painful injuries with long-term consequences for both the victim’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

“The significant compensation from the settlement will help to ease our client’s long-term recovery.

“But this accident should never have happened.

“The unsafe step that caused it could so easily have been repaired – but years later, our client is still suffering as a result of her injuries.”