By Cat Grayson. Last Updated 24th November 2023. If you’ve been injured because you slipped on a wet floor at work, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim. However, you will need to prove that you suffered your injuries due to your employer breaching their duty of care.
Within this guide, we’ll explain more about the duty of care your employer owes you and how a breach of this duty could lead to a work accident involving you slipping on a wet floor.
Also in this guide is an overview of some guideline compensation payouts for different work injuries and how they’re calculated. We’ll also discuss the benefits of making a work injury claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor on our panel.
For more information about making a personal injury claim after slipping on a wet floor at work, you can contact our team. Our friendly advisors can be reached 24/7 to help answer your questions. To reach them, you can:
- Call 0161 696 9685
- Use our online contact page
- Use our live chat.
slipped on a wet floor at work
Select A Section
- I Slipped On A Wet Floor At Work, Can I Claim?
- I Slipped At Work And Injured Myself – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
- Causes Of Having Slipped On A Wet Floor At Work
- I Fell On A Wet Floor At Work – Evidence To Establish Negligence
- Average Payout For Slip And Fall In The UK
- Could I Make A No Win No Fee Claim If I Slipped On A Wet Floor At Work?
- Other Resources
I Slipped On A Wet Floor At Work, Can I Claim?
If you slipped on a wet floor at work and suffered an injury as a result, you might be wondering if you are able to make a claim for compensation. In order to make a personal injury claim, there are certain criteria that your case has to be able to meet.
First, you need to establish that you were owed a duty of care. Your employer owes you a duty of care while working under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), which states that they must take all reasonably practicable steps to keep you safe.
Then, you need to be able to prove that your employer breached their duty of care and that this breach caused your injuries. For example, if you slipped at work because your employer failed to provide non-slip footwear, you could potentially make a claim.
Our advisors can help you identify whether or not you are eligible for compensation if you slipped on the floor and were injured at work. Contact our team today to learn more.
I Slipped At Work And Injured Myself – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
If you’ve slipped on a wet floor and been injured due to your employer’s negligence, then you could be owed compensation. It’s important to know about the time limits involved when making a claim.
From the date of the injury, the Limitation Act 1980 states you generally have 3 years to begin your claim.
There are two exceptions to this time limit:
- Injured children – Those under 18 cannot make their own claim. Due to this, their time limit does not begin until their 18th birthday. Whilst a claim can be made before this time, it must be done by an appointed litigation friend.
- Those with a reduced mental capacity – If the injured party lacks the mental capacity to make their own claim, then a litigation friend must also be appointed if one is to be made in this instance. The time limit only begins from the date the claimant reaches the point of being deemed capable of making their own claim. If this never happens, then the time limit remains suspended.
Get in touch with our advisors if you’ve slipped and fell down on the floor at work. Wet and slippy surfaces caused by negligence can cause injury, and you may be owed compensation.
Causes Of Having Slipped On A Wet Floor At Work
There are many different causes of slips on wet floors at work. These could include:
- Water spillages: These could be particularly relevant to a restaurant, pub, café or takeaway, where kitchens are busy and water is involved in cooking and cleaning.
- Other wet product spillages: These could be relevant to supermarket accidents as well as food-service based businesses. If something is knocked off a shelf, it could cause a slippery spillage.
- Building issues: Leaking pipes and ceiling leakages could cause a wet floor.
- Cleaning: Many workplaces necessitate regular cleaning. If too much water is left on the floor or warning signs aren’t utilised, this could pose a slip hazard.
I Fell On A Wet Floor At Work – Evidence To Establish Negligence
If you slipped and fell down on the floor at work, which caused you to injure yourself, you could make a claim. However, you will need to prove that the reason you slipped on a wet floor was that your employer breached their duty of care.
Providing evidence about your injury and accident is crucial for proving that negligence occurred. Some of the evidence that you could collect to help support your claim includes:
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- Any CCTV footage, videos or photographs that show you slipping on a wet floor.
- Eyewitness’ contact details.
- A complete accident report book if your workplace has one on-site.
- Medical evidence about your injury. For example, this could be a copy of your medical records that state your injury.
Additionally, you may want to seek out some legal advice about the steps you should take next.
Contact our advisors today to see whether you may be eligible for compensation if you fell on a wet floor at work.
Average Payout For Slip And Fall In The UK
You may wish to know the average payout for a slip and fall in the UK. However, as each claim is different, it might be more beneficial to know how compensation is calculated. When compensation is calculated, there are two potential heads of personal injury compensation to consider. These are general damages and special damages. We’ll look at potential special damages in a claim for a fall in the next section.
General damages is the head of personal injury claims that compensates for pain and suffering. Legal professionals use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help value this. We’ve provided rough guideline amounts for different injuries from the JCG in the table below.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation Amounts |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries + Special Damages | Multiple severe injuries alongside substantial financial losses, which could include lost earnings, home adjustments, and mobility aids. | Up to £50,000+ |
| Severe Back Injuries (i) | The spinal cord and nerve roots have been damaged which will cause severe pain. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Severe Neck Injuries (i) | Although a collar is worn 24/7, the neck still suffers from little to no movement. | In the region of £148,330 |
| Severe Knee Injuries (i) | The joint is disrupted or the ligaments have been damaged which will require lengthy treatment. | £69,730 to £96,210 |
| Very Severe Ankle Injuries | A transmalleolar fracture that results in deformity and may require amputation in the future. | £50,060 to £69,700 |
| Severe Ankle Injuries | The ankle may require time in plaster or pins may need to be inserted, which will make it difficult to walk. | £31,310 to £50,060 |
| Wrist Injuries | Wrist function has been completely lost. | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| Severe Shoulder Injuries | Damage to the brachial plexus and usually associated with neck injuries. | £19,200 to £48,030 |
| Serious Shoulder Injuries | The shoulder may be dislocated with the lower part of the brachial plexus being damaged. | £12,770 to £19,200 |
| Moderate Foot Injuries | Displaced metatarsal fractures that cause continuing symptoms and result in a permanent deformity. | £13,740 to £24,990 |
The top entry in this table does not feature within the JCG.
Call our advisors for further information about how compensation is calculated and a free estimation of your claim for a fall.
Could I Make A No Win No Fee Claim If I Slipped On A Wet Floor At Work?
Our panel of solicitors are here to help if you slipped on a wet floor at work and suffered an injury. If you choose to work with a solicitor on your case, they can help guide you through the claims process by offering advice and explaining complex areas of law.
Alongside this, our panel works on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that, with the help of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you aren’t expected to pay any upfront fees to your solicitor for them to start working on your claim. You also won’t need to pay for their ongoing services, and if your claim fails, you won’t pay for their work on the case.
If it succeeds, they’ll take a success fee. This amount is agreed upon in advance and is taken from your compensation as a small percentage, limited by a legal cap.
Contact our team of advisors today if you suffered an injury because you slipped at work. They can help determine whether or not working with our panel is right for you, and could potentially connect you with a solicitor. To get started:
- Call us on 0161 696 9685
- Contact us online.
- Use the live chat feature.
Other Resources
- Hazard Checklist: Employers could use this to identify slip risks in the workplace.
- Case Study: This case study, from the HSE website, shows how a slip caused a hospital trust to improve floor cleaning protocols.
- Floor Cleaning Guidance: This guide from the HSE offers insight into the importance of floor cleaning and the risks it may help to reduce.
Below, you can find links to lots more guides on accidents at work: