An Edinburgh man was left in agonising pain after he fell and broke his leg on black ice, reportedly due to an 'un-gritted' pavement.
The incident took place in January last year on Murdoch Terrace, but after complaining to Edinburgh Council he was told the icy pavement was 'not a critical safety defect'.
Nick Bell, 39, spent weeks in hospital following the fall and described how he had "a panic attack" and was "screaming for help" before a member of the public came to his assistance.
An ambulance rushed Nick to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he spent ten days while surgeons operated on his broken leg.
After being sent home from hospital, he ended up back shortly after falling due to having no support.
The 39-year-old faced further complications when the fall lead to the screws in his bone, becoming bent and broken which he described as "excruciatingly painful."
Speaking to Edinburgh Live Nicolas said: "You should have seen me waiting a week for an operation, my leg was like an elephant leg.
"The surgeons had two pages of waiting lists for operations..
"MSPs and local councillors were screaming for help with the harsh conditions of the pavements.
"On the day of the incident I was going to Sainsbury’s local literally two minutes away from my doorstep the conditions were around -5 there was a clear frosty effective on the path on the road and path."
Nick explained he was dressed suitably for the weather and it was on his trip back he unfortunately slipped on the black ice.
"I was wearing North Face walking boots, the time was roughly around 7am. I was going this time due to my sensitive nature of being around people," he said.
"There is a pub on the corner of my street at the time going to Sainsbury’s local, I thought it was already open but due to it being Sunday.
"It didn’t open until 8am so I went back home but on my way home walking past the pub straight up my street I came across some black ice due to the lack of care from the council," he explained.
The 39-year-old continued: "That was the place, my left foot went forward in an awkward way, to where my leg twisted and you heard my leg actually crack like breaking a piece of ice.
"Basically I fell backwards, and I could not get up and I couldn’t even lift my leg up I was in extreme pain.
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"My PTSD actually kicked in to the point where I’m having a panic attack on top of screaming for help until someone actually called an ambulance."
He continued: "I was basically waiting roughly 30 minutes due to how busy Edinburgh Royal Infirmary were at that time.
"The pain I was going through is something I never imagine or experience before."
Despite taking place over a year ago, the accident still impacts his daily life: "Even the muscle damage I endured still hasn’t fully recovered and I get tingling and numbness sensations still one year later.
"On top of that sometimes I’m afraid to go outside due to all the stress conditions I have been put through in life" he said.
Nicholas is still pursuing action over the pain and trauma he has experienced which he believes Edinburgh Council are responsible for.
A Council spokesperson said any public liability insurance claim is considered on an individual basis and it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases.
