While out in public, very often, there is a third party that has a responsibility for your safety. Therefore, if you have an accident in a public place because the third party failed in this obligation, you could be entitled to claim compensation for any injuries. In this article, we review some of the most common accidents in public places that could occur.
We also review the criteria you’ll need to meet if you’re to make a successful public liability claim. After that, you’ll find out about the types of evidence that could be used to prove your case and how compensation for a personal injury claim is calculated.
If your claim is valid, we’ll explain some of the potential services one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel could offer as part of their service.
A Claims Guide To Common Accidents In Public Places
If you would like free advice about claiming from one of our specialist advisors, you can:
- Call 0161 696 9685.
- Chat with an online advisor.
- Use our “Contact Us” form so that we can call you back.
To find out when you could make a public injury claim, please call or continue reading.
Browse Our Guide
- What Are The Eligibility Criteria When Making A Public Liability Claim?
- What Are The Most Common Accidents In Public Places?
- Evidence That Could Help When Claiming For An Accident In A Public Place
- Potential Compensation From Personal Injury Claims
- Why Use No Win No Fee Solicitors To Claim Compensation?
- Learn More About Claiming For Common Accidents In Public Places
What Are The Eligibility Criteria When Making A Public Liability Claim?
Generally, controllers of public spaces have a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 to ensure that they take steps to keep visitors who use the premises for its intended purpose reasonably safe.
Many of the most common accidents in public places could potentially be prevented if the occupier:
- Carries out regular risk assessments.
- Fixes any hazards as soon as possible.
- Maintains all equipment properly.
- Trains staff on safety requirements.
However, to start a personal injury claim following a public place accident, you will need to prove:
- The defendant in your claim owed you a legal duty of care at the point of your accident.
- Your accident was a direct result of a breach of duty by the defendant; and
- As a consequence of the accident, you were injured or made ill.
If you believe that you’ve been injured in a public place due to the fault of the occupier, why not call our team today?
What Are The Most Common Accidents In Public Places?
In this section, we’ve described a few public liability claim examples. Remember, you must’ve been injured in an accident caused by the occupier’s breach of duty if you’re to be compensated.
Here are some examples of when that might be the case:
- You could start a slip, trip and fall claim if you fell and broke your wrist because a floor was slippery after recently being cleaned, but no warning signs were used.
- It may be possible to claim for soft tissue injuries caused by damaged furniture in public parks or spaces.
- Where you fell over a trip hazard such as a cable that had been laid across a shop. A claim might be possible if the cable hadn’t been taped down or cordoned off and you suffered a concussion as a result.
- If you fell down a flight of stairs and broke your ribs because a handrail was loose.
- You were stuck in a lift in a public building and suffered panic attacks because it had been poorly maintained.
- You could make a pavement tripping claim if you tore your Achilles tendon after tripping on a defect that hadn’t been repaired by the council when it should have been.
These are just a few examples of accidents in public places that could potentially lead to a personal injury claim. Please get in touch if you’d like us to check if you have a valid claim during a free initial consultation.
Evidence That Could Help When Claiming For An Accident In A Public Place
The following evidence could all help when claiming for common accidents in public places:
- Photographic evidence i.e. to prove the height of a trip hazard.
- Contact details for any potential witnesses.
- Footage from CCTV cameras (or other sources).
- Details of any medical appointments or treatments you’ve needed.
- Any correspondence about the incident or a copy of an accident report form.
If your case is deemed to be valid, one of the solicitors on our panel could offer to help. As part of their service, they will obtain more evidence, such as copies of your medical records or witness statements.
Why not get in touch with our team if you’d like us to review any evidence you’ve already secured?
Potential Compensation From Personal Injury Claims
Each and every personal injury claim is valued on a case-by-case basis reflecting the individual’s circumstances. No two claims are the same. So to work out a possible personal injury compensation amount, all of the impacts need to be taken into account.
Generally, up to two heads of loss make up any settlement that’s paid. The first is known as general damages and compensates for pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
To help calculate the level of general damages you could be entitled to, very often, a medical assessment will be arranged for you. When legal professionals value general damages, they will look to the medical report from the assessment as well as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
The JCG provides guidance on compensation values for different injuries of varying severity, and we’ve used its data in our table below. However, it is for guidance purposes only.
Compensation Table
| Type Of Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe | £219,070 to £282,010 | The claimant will be very seriously disabled because of a brain/head injury. As a result, their dependence on others and professional care will be substantial. |
| Arm | Severe (a) | £96,160 to £130,930 | In this category, an injury that is so serious that the claimant is little better off than had the arm been amputated. |
| Back | Severe (ii) | £74,160 to £88,430 | Where the claimant suffers impaired mobility, impaired bowel or bladder function or loss of sensation because of a serious back injury. |
| Severe (iii) | £38,780 to £69,730 | Disc lesions or fractures of discs or of vertebral bodies or soft tissue injuries leading to chronic conditions, where even after treatment disabilities remain. | |
| Neck | Severe (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | Where disabilities are sustained because of serious damage or fractures of discs in the cervical spine. |
| Moderate (i) | £24,990 to £38,490 | E.g. Neck injuries that result in markedly impaired function and there will be the risk of further injury in the future | |
| Hips/Pelvis | Severe (iii) | £39,170 to £52,500 | Various hip injuries fall into this bracket such as a fracture of the acetabulum leading to degenerative changes and leg instability requiring an osteotomy. |
| Knee | Moderate (i) | £14,840 to £26,190 | Where a torn meniscus or knee dislocation causes weakness, minor instability or wasting. |
| Wrist | (d) | £6,080 to £10,350 | Where the claimant takes more than 12 months to recover because of a soft tissue injury or wrist fracture |
| Ankle | Modest | Up to £13,740 | The amount paid for this bracket will depend on whether a full recovery is made and how long suffering occurred. |
Special Damages When Claiming For A Public Place Accident
The second head of loss in a personal injury claim is called special damages. This covers any costs or expenses incurred as a result of your injury.
Your payout could cover the following:
- The cost of a carer.
- Medical and rehabilitation costs.
- Lost income along with future losses.
- Travel expenses.
- The cost of making adaptations to your home or vehicle to help you cope with any disabilities.
Providing evidence of any costs is essential, so you may need to retain any relevant receipts, wage slips or bank statements.
You can check what you could claim back as part of a personal injury claim by speaking to a member of our team.
Why Use No Win No Fee Solicitors To Claim Compensation?
Call our team today, and you can receive a free case assessment to look at the merits of your public place injury claim. If they can see that you have good grounds to pursue a personal injury claim, they could connect you to a specialist public liability No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
The solicitors on our panel provide their No Win No Fee service via a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Claiming with a solicitor under a CFA means that:
- You won’t be asked to pay for any of your solicitor’s services upfront.
- There won’t be any fees for your solicitor’s work to pay during the claim or if it is lost.
- If your claim is won, your solicitor will deduct a percentage of your compensation as their success fee.
- The percentage that can be taken from the compensation is capped by law.
Our team are happy to check if you have a valid claim as part of a free initial consultation. To arrange yours, you can:
- Call 0161 696 9685.
- Use our “Contact Us” form
- Connect to our live chat service.
Learn More About Claiming For Common Accidents In Public Places
Here are some more of our helpful guides:
- Advice on the time limit for public liability claims.
- A guide about car accident compensation claims.
- Information on claims against the council.
Finally, here are a few external resources as well:
- NHS advice on how to find local services.
- Information on complaing about a local council.
- Advice on how to obtain CCTV footage of yourself.
If there’s any further help we can offer on claiming for common accidents in public places, please feel free to call.