Foreigner slips and breaks his neck on mossy seawall steps at Thailand beach

[G Rex]

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Agreed... somewhere in the middle would seem appropriate 

 

Without getting political... yes... a lot of tax is not paid in Thailand and a lot of money which should go into public funds ends up in pockets... 

 

 

And therein lies the basis of the problem - and many of the issues in the LOS - when we try to compare things with life in the ‘civilised’ West.  

[Pink Mist]

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

Where would you be trying to go? Into that far more dangerous looking rough water? Why would anyone be trying to traverse down there in the first place?

When the tides out there is a small beach area, but in the dark it's not a good idea at all to try and walk down them.

[malathione]

9 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

I have walked on the trail.above the tidal wall there and at Pranburi Beach. There are signs that warn of moss being a hazard.

There certainly are in Pranburi.

[RichardColeman]

‘Beach for life’ wrote a statement detailing five requests for the department:

1. Take full responsibility for the incident
2. Cover the damages and heal the injured

 

They will certainly fight point 2. !!

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

On Friday, the Facebook page ‘Beach for life‘ was contacted by a Thai woman seeking justice for her foreign husband who is still being treated in hospital after an incident at Cha-am Beach on March 19.

Chicken delight on it's way.

[Bangkok Barry]

These accidents happen, are common and part of life. And it is your responsibility to take care to avoid as many hazards out there as you can. Most times you win, very occasionally you lose. Just suck it up and move on.

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The woman said she wants the owner of the seawall project to accept responsibility for the incident. So far, there has been no remedy from the project owner, “who has changed the environment at Cha-am beach into a dangerous, moss-filled seawall,

Responsibility is lost in translation here.

[chiman]

12 hours ago, Myran said:

"She said there are no lights in the area and no warning signs to say the steps could be slippery"

 

Neither are there signs proclaiming that the ocean can make you wet. Sometimes you'll just have to use some common sense.

There was a sign, at the airport, says Welcome to Thailand.  

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

The smart people make sanctimonious comments on this forum don’t they !!!... 

 

 

Those steps look like they’d be perilous when wet....    

So take precautions?

[geisha]

Thé problem is the Thai authorities do not care !  Tourist Phuket last year , Kata beach, not even street lights working, non existent pavements , how on earth do people with kids ( maybe not welcome?) or seniors manage to get back to their hotel/ condo evening ?? In front of the famous Boathouse , not even a pavement, so if you want to go to the beach in the day, a restaurant, or a meal in the evening, cars and hundreds of motorbikes rush past you !!! The drains are wonky , 30 years ago at Christmas, my leg went through the gap, so lucky it didn’t break, just a chipped bone , 8pm no lights , death trap drains.  Nothings changed.  Thais don’t walk/ stroll as foreigners do, so don’t care. Third world 100%. 
ok, so the clever ones say, TIT, you take the risk, why be so stupid to go out with a baby stroller or , take a taxi to the 15 min evening restaurant and back, total rubbish. Thailand and its expats, don’t complain about the low class of foreigners that come here, the drunks, the idiots , the barstool politicians,  the wife beater clad / bare backed expats , sex tourists,  that’s the type you are attracting. Nuff said .

[harrycallahan]

Given that steps are designed to be walked on I think she has a point. It's setup to hurt people. 

[robblok]

9 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I agree... but the rocks are not a designed flat surface that for the unwitting look perfect for walking along... with rocks etc the danger is obvious and apparent. 

 

 

 

Richard, your taking things out of context. A branch falling from a tree is different from walking somewhere in the dark at a place where anyone with half a brain should stay away from. There is such a thing as own responsibility. 

 

You cant expect a government to have everything clean, something that gets flooded by water each and every day will be slippery you can't change that. In this case IMHO its the guys fault. As i get older i see risks more clearly. 

 

Some things like uneven pavement in a busy street sure government can fix it. Things like this that will always happen unless large amounts of money are spend and everyone with half a brain should know not so much.

[brianthainess]

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

the old fella was only walking down the steps.

 

9 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Sorry for the old fella but really a non issue

OLD Fella, Jeez he is only 55 !

[brianthainess]

I wish to make a complaint also, i was swimming and the sea tasted like salt, and made me sick, no signs to warn me. 

[peter zwart]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The woman said she wants the owner of the seawall project to accept responsibility for the incident.

Respons......what???? No chance.

[pest]

https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-sea-moss

[TimeMachine]

Unfortunately , the act of sueing and reimbursement for harm done is only for the lucky selected few. I am one of the unlucky ones too. Obviously you should fight for what you are due but be prepared for not even an apology. I apologize on behalf of humanity. Most importantly I hope recovery is quick and thorough and life affords you the utmost happiness in the future.

 

[Bangkok Barry]

27 minutes ago, geisha said:

Thé problem is the Thai authorities do not care !  Tourist Phuket last year , Kata beach, not even street lights working, non existent pavements , how on earth do people with kids ( maybe not welcome?) or seniors manage to get back to their hotel/ condo evening ?? In front of the famous Boathouse , not even a pavement, so if you want to go to the beach in the day, a restaurant, or a meal in the evening, cars and hundreds of motorbikes rush past you !!! The drains are wonky , 30 years ago at Christmas, my leg went through the gap, so lucky it didn’t break, just a chipped bone , 8pm no lights , death trap drains.  Nothings changed.  Thais don’t walk/ stroll as foreigners do, so don’t care. Third world 100%. 
ok, so the clever ones say, TIT, you take the risk, why be so stupid to go out with a baby stroller or , take a taxi to the 15 min evening restaurant and back, total rubbish. Thailand and its expats, don’t complain about the low class of foreigners that come here, the drunks, the idiots , the barstool politicians,  the wife beater clad / bare backed expats , sex tourists,  that’s the type you are attracting. Nuff said .

I agree with all you say, 100%. Thailand - Hub of Apathy. Which is why the country is so backward in so many ways. Nobody really cares about anything. Certainly not enough to actually address any problems.

[BritScot]

Wow, I just had to stop reading the victim Blaming on here: how dare you come to thailand and get hurt, beaten to a pulp or killed etc. The arrogance of people expecting to get a good service, paths you can walk on, roads you can travel on without fear of death, go for a walk without fear of being robbed or worse. Heaven forbid you dare try exciting activities and expect they are safe!!! Spend meny thousands of pounds going to thailand for your holiday the slip on poorly maintained structures and break your neck... the owner of the structure has responsibility (regardless of what country its in) if unsafe then appropriate signage and fencing should be erected (before an accident occurs and not afterwards).

[itsari]

From the photo it could be said the person that built the steps has a legal obligation to make it safe for people to walk on them . 

Yes , this is Thailand and therefore this unfortunate man will be offered no compensation .

I remember slipping on ice covered concrete steps in Norway . I was lucky not to end up with a broken neck myself . I do not think there would be any compensation on offer if I had injured my self . But i did know that the steps were full of ice and the man slipping on moss was apperantly unaware of the danger .

[Deez]

14 hours ago, Myran said:

Neither are there signs proclaiming that the ocean can make you wet. Sometimes you'll just have to use some common sense.

You expect water to be "wet". You do not expect stairs to be like ice. The reason there is so many public hazards is because there is zero accountability.

[wensiensheng]

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Yup... dripping with sanctimony....    I don’t know what it is with some AN posters who insist on passing such judgement.... 

 

I tend to agree that we ‘should be careful’... but public area’s should also not be so treacherous and IF they are the blame should not solely be placed at the foot of the injured.

 

 

I was driving near Sa Keaw a few weeks back... the road was ’slick’ and I mean, shiny slick. 

New concrete had be laid and for some reason the contractor had laid the concrete in such a manner it was extremely smooth and shiny.....  The last time I saw concrete so smooth I couldn’t get up the slight incline to my condo on my motorcycle while it was raining, the rear wheel would spin and slide...  the front wheels on the car would also spin it was so slippery. 

The surface looked as if it would be incredibly treacherous in the wet.... IMO a 100% guarantee of skidding cars...  SO.. what did authorities do about it ???... They put up signs every 100% ’road very slippy when wet’....     IMO, they [the authorities] are accountable for every single accident that occurs on that stretch of road (the most hazardous I’ve ever seen in Thailand)...  

 

In the same manner, the public have a right to accept a basic level of standards and safety when out on public property... and that means not having surfaces that are going to be be walked on which are so slippery that this happens (looking at the steps I bet this is not the first time this has happened). 

 

So...  while I agree with the sentiment that we have to take extra caution when out and about in Thailand, unlike you OneMoreFarang... I’m not blaming the victim here - I’m blaming the Authorities who would have known about the slippery steps in this area and have simply chosen not to care.

 

This disregard for the safety of the public is an underlying cause for numerous incidents... from people getting electrocuted on a metal lamp-post, to hanging wires garrotting motorcyclists, to very poorly designed road junctions etc...   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you expect a sign on every inch of road saying to be careful because cars pass and can cause accidents? Or do you use common sense and take as much care as possible?

 

and even if you do take as much care as possible, accidents do still happen.

 

Thailand has an appalling safety record and I am as critical of the authorities in that respect as anyone, but this sounds like a freak accident. 
 

I personally can’t see that the authorities bear much blame. Venturing into a dark area with slippery conditions underfoot, yep, it’s possible to slip and fall. The guy is very unlucky that it led to serious injury.

[newnative]

     I'm with personal responsibility.  The guy's 55.  He should know by now that steps can be slippery--with or without moss.  It was dark, there apparently was no handrail; he should have gone slowly and taken extra care with each step--likely he will next time.  

[Tarteso]

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

This disregard for the safety of the public is an underlying cause for numerous incidents... from people getting electrocuted on a metal lamp-post, to hanging wires garrotting motorcyclists, to very poorly designed road junctions etc..

without forgetting some  demarcation lines of the roads

[BritManToo]

46 minutes ago, BritScot said:

Wow, I just had to stop reading the victim Blaming on here: how dare you come to thailand and get hurt, beaten to a pulp or killed etc. The arrogance of people expecting to get a good service, paths you can walk on, roads you can travel on without fear of death, go for a walk without fear of being robbed or worse. Heaven forbid you dare try exciting activities and expect they are safe!!! Spend meny thousands of pounds going to thailand for your holiday the slip on poorly maintained structures and break your neck... the owner of the structure has responsibility (regardless of what country its in) if unsafe then appropriate signage and fencing should be erected (before an accident occurs and not afterwards).

If that's your attitude, best to stay out of the 3rd world, and stay safely in your nanny state.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, geisha said:

ok, so the clever ones say, TIT, you take the risk, why be so stupid to go out with a baby stroller or , take a taxi to the 15 min evening restaurant and back, total rubbish. Thailand and its expats, don’t complain about the low class of foreigners that come here, the drunks, the idiots , the barstool politicians,  the wife beater clad / bare backed expats , sex tourists,  that’s the type you are attracting. Nuff said .

I've never thought Thailand was a sensible holiday choice for pregnant women or young children.

It's dangerous enough for adults!

[bunnydrops]

12 hours ago, Pink Mist said:

Was just down in HH, this is a picture of the moss on those steps, or seawall. Downright dangerous even in the daytime.

I was there a couple of months ago, Those steps are a lot more slippery than they look. They run only about 100 ft from the road in a popular Thai tourist area. Most the locals hate the steps and wish they had never been put in. There was an article about them in one of the papers.

[Chongalulu]

14 hours ago, dick turpin said:

Let's see how his insurance company handles

this one......yes, you've guessed. 

Claim denied… he wasn’t wearing a helmet…! 

[AustinRacing]

This is a man made thing. As such responsibility (thinking) comes with its construction. Looks like it was built for the purpose of dissipating wave forces. If so, it wasn’t intended for people accessing the sea. As such it’s their responsibility to ensure people are not walking on it. This is typical of Thai style construction with little foresight and the “what if” considerations that go hand in hand with designs and erection of things!

[radiochaser]

11 hours ago, tuktuktuk said:

Those aren't steps.  That's an integral part of the seawall meant to dissipate incoming wave energy.  If somebody intended for people to access the beach there would be an access point or multiple ones. Preventing algae growth would be an around the clock pressure washing job.

 

Parts of the Galveston seawall used to look like this.  It was eventually rebuilt with a curved design that few people will try to traverse. The Lake Pontchartrain seawall still looks like this.  If you go to the lake on a Sunday you can watch people slip and fall on it all day long.  

I didn't know that Lake Pontchartrain  had a seawall.   I had to look that up on the www.   I saw a reference to a seawall along Lakeshore drive.   Is that the one you wrote about?