By Stephen Kane. Last Updated 9th June 2023. When you are on private property, you are under the duty of care of the controller of the property. This duty of care means that the owner of the property has a responsibility to make sure that the property is safe to use, with reasonable steps taken. However, suffering a personal injury on private property doesn’t always mean the controller of the property is liable.
This guide explores the circumstances under which you could be able to make a personal injury claim.
A duty of care applies in both private properties that are controlled by a business that is accessible to the public and to private property controlled by an individual, such as a private residence.
Personal injury on private property
If you have suffered an injury while on private property and it wasn’t your fault, you could be entitled to claim compensation.
Our advisors can provide you with free legal advice. In addition, if you have a solid claim, they could connect you with our panel of personal injury solicitors.
Our advisors are available 24/7 and you’ll be under no obligation to proceed with the services of our panel of lawyers. Therefore, why not get in touch with us in the following ways?:
- Contact us through our website so we can get back to you.
- Call 0161 696 9685
- Send a message through our pop-up 24/7 live chat
Select A Section
- Calculating Compensation For A Personal Injury On Private Property
- Types Of Damages
- What Happens If I Have An Accident On Private Property?
- Personal Injury On Private Property – Establishing Liability
- Health And Safety Legislation For Commercial Properties
- The Role Of The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957
- What Are Your Rights If Injured On Private Property?
- Personal Injuries On Private Residential Property
- Personal Injuries On Private Commercial Property
- Slips, Trips And Falls On Private Property
- Claiming For Injuries With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Related Guides
Calculating Compensation For A Personal Injury On Private Property
You could claim compensation for the harm you have suffered. This compensation is calculated to reflect the degree of harm that you have experienced. One aspect of this is to cover the physical and psychological harm to your health. This type of compensation is general damages.
To find out the worth of this compensation, you would need to undergo a medical assessment as part of the claims process. An independent medical professional would assess your injuries and create a report. Your solicitor could use this report to aid them in valuing your injuries.
The purpose of the assessment is to:
- Prove that the injuries were caused or worsened because of the accident that wasn’t your fault.
- Assess the severity of the injuries.
The solicitor may also use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help their valuation. You can see what these guidelines recommend for certain types of injuries in the compensation table below.
The below compensation table is not intended to give you a final figure for your claim. Rather, it is intended to demonstrate what could be awarded for the medical harm aspect of a compensation claim.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Severe leg injury (i) | £96,250 to £135,920 |
| Less serious leg injury (i) | £17,960 to £27,760 |
| Severe knee injury (i) | £69,730 to £96,210 |
| Moderate knee injury (i) | £14,840 to £26,190 |
| Very severe ankle injury (a) | £50,060 to £69,700 |
| Moderate ankle injury (c) | £13,740 to £26,590 |
| Less Severe Head Injury | £15,320 to £43,060 |
| Minor Head Injury | £2,210 to £12,770 |
| Serious Achilles tendon injury (b) | £24,990 to £30,090 |
| Minor Achilles tendon injury (d) | £7,270 to £12,590 |
If you can’t see your injury in the compensation table above, reach out to us. Our advisors could give you a free, accurate estimate of how your claim could be valued.
Types Of Damages
In addition to the harm caused to your physical health by an injury, and the harm caused to your mental health, you could also suffer a monetary fallout. An injury could cost you money in a number of different ways. This could involve:
- Losing earnings from having to take unpaid sick leave
- Missing out on bonuses such as attendance rewards
- Losing out on income from being unable to complete work contracts
- Medical expenses such as prescription costs
- Spending money on travelling for visits to the hospital
- Having to cancel plans due to an injury and losing deposits i.e. cancelling holidays
Additionally, this could include compensation for damage to property in the UK. For example, if your phone broke while tripping on broken paving, you could recover the costs of having it repaired or replaced.
Claiming back these losses and expenses can be an important part of your compensation claim. In order to do it, you will have to add up the total costs relating to your injuries and provide proof of them.
To prove financial losses, you can compile and present all the forms of documentation that you can. They could be in the form of wage slips, bank statements, invoices, receipts, and tickets, for example. If you cannot provide documentation to support a claim, you will struggle to receive it in compensation.
What Happens If I Have An Accident On Private Property?
Owners of private property owe a duty of care to anyone who visits their premises. This is a responsibility to ensure that their premises are reasonably safe or have been made practically safe – any hazards that can pose a risk to visitors’ health should be properly managed or controlled to avoid the risk of injury.
If you have had an accident on private property and were injured because an occupier failed to take practical actions against hazards they would reasonably have been expected to deal with, you could be able to sue them and claim compensation for your injuries.
We go into more detail about the different parties that could be liable for an injury on a private property in the sections below, but for now, if you have suffered an injury on a private property because of negligence then please reach out to one of our team discuss personal injury claims made against private property owners.
Personal Injury On Private Property – Establishing Liability
If you suffer an injury on private property, the occupier of that space owes you a duty of care as set by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This means that the occupier of that space must ensure reasonable safety of anyone entering it.
This could mean that if an occupier is made aware of broken paving that presents a trip hazard, they could put up a warning sign until it can be repaired. Personal injury on private property claims could occur should someone suffer an injury while tripping on the broken paving if there was no sign warning them. In a personal injury on private property claim, the claimant would typically claim against the occupier of that space.
Call our advisors for free advice if you suffered an injury on private property.
Health And Safety Legislation For Commercial Properties
When a business rents a property, in certain circumstances, that business can assume many of the responsibilities for health and safety on that property, even though they are not the owners. The responsibilities can include:
- Removing hazardous obstructions from outside of the fire doors
- Handling electrical and gas safely
- Ensuring that they don’t obstruct lighting and ventilation
- Providing safe equipment to be used on the site
- Fire safety
- Managing asbestos
- Gas safety
- Electrical equipment safety
When a business vacates the site, it may also have a responsibility to ensure that any necessary repairs are carried out in order to restore the property to its original condition. These are known as dilapidations.
The Role Of The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 is one of the key pieces of legislation outlining the responsibilities of a property controller when it comes to health and safety. This law stipulates that the occupier of a property, in some cases this may mean a party or person renting a property, bears responsibility for ensuring the safety of visitors.
This, more specifically, means that an occupier of a property should make sure that those on the property can have a reasonable expectation of their safety. They should do this by taking reasonable steps to mitigate the risk of harm.
In some cases, this will mean removing safety hazards. In other cases, it can involve putting up visible, clear warning notices of hazards that cannot be reasonably removed from the environment.
What Are Your Rights If Injured On Private Property?
If you have been injured on private property, you could have the right to make a claim for personal injury compensation. However, you would only be able to do so if you weren’t fully responsible for your injuries.
For example, if you can prove the controller of the property failed to meet their obligations towards health and safety, which led to your injuries, you could claim.
It may also be possible to bring criminal charges against the persons responsible, depending on the exact circumstances under which the injury occurred.
Personal Injuries On Private Residential Property
Private residential properties are covered under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, meaning that the controller of the property is responsible for ensuring the safety of any visitors from the risk of foreseeable and avoidable accidents while on their property. A homeowner could be liable for paying compensation to a guest if the guest is injured as a result of unsafe conditions in the residence.
If the residence is rented by the occupier from a landlord, then it will have to be determined whether the occupier or the owner is responsible based on the specific cause and circumstances of the accident that caused the injury.
Our advisors can provide answers for you if you are uncertain of whether or not the owner or occupier of the property is liable for a personal injury claim. They can give free legal advice about your personal injury on private property.
Personal Injuries On Private Commercial Property
Commercial property is usually used to describe buildings that house businesses. This may include:
- Office spaces
- High street shops
- Factories
- Restaurants
The controller of the property could be liable in certain circumstances. For example, if the private commercial property houses multiple offices for different businesses, the controller may operate communal spaces such as kitchens. If they’re aware that an appliance in the kitchen is faulty but fail to fix it, they could be liable for injuries it causes.
However, if the business using the property doesn’t protect the safety of visitors, they could be liable for injuries caused by their negligence in upholding their health and safety responsibilities. For example, if a person slips in a restaurant because a spillage was noticed but not attended to, the restaurant could be liable for injuries caused.
Slips, Trips And Falls On Private Property
One important aspect of health and safety that is often easily overlooked is slips, trips, and falls. Slips, trips, and falls are among the most common causes of injuries at work. They’re also not uncommon in places that are accessible to the public.
Preventing slips, trips, and falls by removing the causes of such hazards, or putting up warning notices where the hazards are not immediately possible to remove, can help protect the safety of visitors.
If you were injured by slipping or tripping and falling over on a hazard that should have been removed or reduced, you could be entitled to make a claim for personal injury compensation.
Claiming For Injuries With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim after being injured in an accident on private property, then you could seek support from a solicitor who has experience with claiming for this type of accident. If you speak to our advisors, they could review your case for you. If they determine you have a strong claim, they may then put you in touch with a solicitor on our panel.
A solicitor from our panel may offer to support your claim on a No Win No Fee basis with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this agreement, you won’t be required to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. Also, if your claim is unsuccessful, then you don’t need to pay your solicitor for the service they provided.
If your claim is successful, then your No Win No Fee solicitor will be paid a success fee. This is normally a small and legally capped percentage deducted from the compensation awarded for your claim.
To learn more about whether you could claim for being injured on private property, speak to our advisors online or on the phone. You can reach them through the following methods:
- Contact us through our site to let us get back to you
- Call 0161 696 9685
- Send a message through our 24/7 live chat
Related Guides
Here you can learn more about claiming compensation from your employer after having an accident at work:
How to claim for an accident at work
Here you can learn more about claiming compensation after suffering an injury in a road traffic accident:
Claims for car accident injuries
Here you can learn more about the time limits that affect making personal injury claims:
Is there a time limit on making personal injury claims?
We hope this guide on claiming for a personal injury on private property has proved helpful. Why not call if you have unanswered questions?