London Air Ambulance responds to floor collapse in Hackney bar
Ambulance and fire crews reportedly treated 13 people at the Two More Years bar in Roach Road, Hackney Wick, with three having potentially serious injuries and 10 having minor injuries. Four of the injured were taken to nearby hospitals and major trauma centres.
In 2013, Fieldfisher worked with the insurers of the Apollo theatre in London to help those injured after the roof collapsed during a performance of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time". More than 70 people were hurt, seven of them seriously. This included both physical and in some cases very sever psychiatric response.
Jennifer Buchanan, partner in the serious injury team who led the group action explained previously the law that exists to protect visitors to public premises. It is likely similar investigations will be carried out in conjunction with the recent bar ceiling collapse.
"The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 provides a basic duty of care to lawful visitors to premises. The duty is to take such care as in all the circumstances is reasonable to ensure the reasonable safety of a visitor. This duty of care is one of the most fundamental principles in Health and Safety Law.
"The critical thing will be to assess the checks already done; assess the past engineering evidence and to see if there were any signs of concern. It is however astonishing that such an incident could happen at all."
If you are affected by the event at the Hackney Bar, please contact Jennifer Buchanan to discuss how we can help.