We want compensation for seawall fall injuries
6:00pm Friday 25th November 2011
THE family of a man who survived a bone-breaking fall from a seawall are pushing for compensation and safety improvements.
Julia Corrigan, 53, was convinced husband Colin, 57, was dead after he toppled 25ft from the seawall path near Coopers Beach Caravan Site, in East Mersea.
Coastguards and paramedics took three-and-a-half hours rescuing Corrigan from the mud after the fall, in August.
He suffered a broken leg, five broken ribs, a punctured lung and head injuries.
Mrs Corrigan has launched a campaign for Essex County Council and the caravan site to provide railings and lights along the path.
She said: “We are not asking them to spend thousands. It just needs railings on the most dangerous areas.
“No one is taking responsibility. We just want to make it safe. I wouldn’t wish this on someone else.
“There is a pub nearby and I keep thinking if parents were sitting outside with a young child, it could go for a wander and lose its footing.”
Mr Corrigan, a painter and decorator of School Road, Silver End, is still unable to work because of his injuries.
He is in contact with a lawyer and seeking compensation for the accident, which has left his arm permanently numb.
Terry Sutton, Colchester councillor for East Mersea, agrees something should be done. He said: “People want answers, not the authorities passing the buck.
“I will try to get them a straight answer. The difficulty is some of that route is the landowners’ responsibility and other parts are the council’s.”
East Mersea Parish Council has agreed to discuss the issue at its next meeting.
No one from Coopers Beach was available for comment.
An Essex County Council spokesman said: “We are liaising with Julia and Colin Corrigan regarding the incident.
“Essex County Council is responsible for managing public rights of way.
“It is not standard policy to light or to put barriers on rural rights of way, but we are looking into their request.”