Barrier liability: What to do?

Questioner

As a company, we have a parking lot with a barrier at the entrance and exit. In a nutshell: had many problems with the supplier. Disruption after disruption and they often fail to solve the problems. (Despite a maintenance contract with a response time for disruptions of 24 hours) I recently had a conversation with the account manager of that company and he promised to do better. Now a few weeks have passed and the barrier system has been checked a few times and some repairs have been carried out. The barrier at the exit opens when you stand in front of it with your car. Yesterday, however, this was not the case. The colleague who wanted to leave the parking lot last was faced with a closed barrier. Despite driving up a few times, the barrier would not open. After trying a few times, she got out and walked to the barrier. Just as she wanted to lean over the tip of the barrier, it suddenly opened (her car was still on the detection loop under the pavement). Because the barrier opened when she was hanging above it, it hit her in the face, resulting in a big black eye and a headache. The colleague in question has filled out an 'Industrial Accident' form and for now she only has a black eye and a headache. But I am afraid that she may develop more complaints in the long term and that I will then no longer be able to do anything with the supplier of the barrier system. Can I hold the supplier liable for this and how do I do this?

Lawyer

I advise you to hold the supplier liable for any future damage suffered by your employee as a result of the defect in the barrier and at the same time to put the supplier in default with regard to the functioning of the barrier. In this notice of default you must then offer him a final opportunity to repair the defects in the barrier within a reasonable period, failing which you have the choice of either having the defects repaired by a third party and recovering the costs from the supplier or to terminate the agreement and claim replacement damages equal to the costs of repair. I am happy to draft such a letter for you. A letter from a lawyer can sometimes make a difference. Please feel free to contact me without obligation and free of charge to discuss what I can do for you in this regard and what the costs are.