How To Sue For An Injury In A Public Place

Have you been injured in a public place accident that wasn’t your fault? Do you have reason to believe that those in control of the space were responsible for the accident? If you can prove that their failings were to blame for your suffering then you could be due a payout. Here we’ll provide a guide on how you could successfully sue for an injury in a public place.

sue for an injury in a public place

How To Sue for an injury in a public place guide

In order to achieve this, you’ll need strong evidence to support your claim of third-party liability. This could include witness statements, photographs from the scene of the incident and a medical report by an independent expert.

Bodies, such as a local council, which control an area open to the public owe those that enter such areas a duty of care. This means they must put provisions in place to help ensure safety in public places under their control. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 they must ensure public spaces, open to the public to use for its intended purpose, must be safe as can reasonably be expected. 

With this in mind, it’s always good to seek help from a legal professional to handle your claim. This way, you can ensure that your claim is filed in full as once the claim is settled you cannot go back and ask for more. This article can help you get a better understanding of public liability claims and the process of making one. For more information, you can speak to one of our advisors today.

Contact us now

We offer free consultations, which allow us to both better understand your situation and advise you on how best to proceed. If we then feel that you could be entitled to compensation, we can connect you to our panel of personal injury solicitors to handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis.

You can contact us through the following methods:

  1. Fill out one of our contact forms and we’ll give you a call back
  2. Use our live chat feature at the bottom right of your screen
  3. Call us on 0800 408 7827

Select a Section

  1. How To Sue For An Injury In A Public Place – A Guide To Claiming Compensation
  2. Why Would You Sue For An Injury In A Public Place?
  3. Who Owes A Duty Of Care In Public Liability Claims?
  4. How Can Someone Be Held Liable For Public Liability?
  5. Public Place Injury Stats
  6. What Should I Do If Suffer An Injury In A Public Place?
  7. What Is The Average Payout For An Injury?
  8. No Win No Fee Public Liability Claims
  9. How To Find Quality Personal Injury Solicitors
  10. Contact Us Today
  11.  Additional Resources

How To Sue For An Injury In A Public Place – A Guide To Claiming Compensation

This article will provide a guide on how you could successfully sue for an injury in a public place if you have evidence it was caused by the negligence of the controller. We’ll begin by answering some common questions shared by prospective claimants in this situation, such as:

  1. Why would you sue for an injury in a public place?
  2. What is a public liability claim?
  3. Who owes a duty of care in public liability claims?
  4. Why is public liability insurance important?
  5. Who needs public liability insurance?
  6. Is public liability insurance a legal requirement?
  7. How much compensation could I be entitled to for a public place accident?

Furthermore, we’ll address any queries that you may have about the claims process itself, including:

  1. What should I do if I fall victim to a public place injury?
  2. How could using a No Win No Fee lawyer help me?
  3. Where can I source the best personal injury lawyer to handle my case?

If you still have questions about making a claim for an injury in a public place, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.

Limitation Periods on Claims

Did you know that personal injury claims (including those involving injuries in public places) have limitation periods within which you can claim? Typically, the time limit within which you’re eligible to start a claim is a period of 3 years. This time limit applies under the Limitation Act 1980.

However, exceptions apply if the claimant is a child or lacks the mental capacity to make decisions independently. In such cases, the 3 year time limit is frozen until the day comes when the claimant can claim on their own.

If you want to claim but wait too long before starting legal proceedings, you could miss out on compensation that may have been offered for your suffering. Therefore, we recommend starting proceedings to get your claim underway as soon as you can.

If you have grounds to make a claim, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today. You can contact our advisors if you have any queries about time limits for starting a personal injury claim.

Why Would You Sue For An Injury In A Public Place?

In most cases, you can establish grounds to make a claim if your public place accident meets the following criteria:

  1. The third-party in control of the public place owed you a duty of care
  2. This duty of care was breached by the third-party
  3. You suffered as a result of this breach by the third-party

Accidents and injuries in public places can come in many different forms. For example, you may have slipped on a wet shop floor with no hazard sign in place. Or you may have tripped on a pothole. For some more examples of public place accidents that you could fall victim to, please take a look through the next few subsections.

Accidents In Public Parks

Have you been injured in a public park accident that wasn’t your fault? Providing that you can prove negligence on the part of the controller of the park, you could be owed compensation for your suffering.

Potential hazards that could exist in a public park if the upkeep is not met;

  1. Poorly maintained playground or outdoor gym equipment
  2. Broken fencing posts or gates
  3. Paths obstructed by overgrown tree roots or potholes 

According to ROSPA, around 40,000 children are taken to hospital every year as a result of a playground accident. Within this figure, less than 40% are caused by the playground equipment itself. These figures have no indication about those that could have been prevented. 

Public park operators owe a duty of care to visitors to ensure that it can be used safely. If you or your child are injured as a result of a public park accident that the operators could have realistically foreseen, but did nothing to prevent, then you could be able to hold them liable for negligence.

Car Park Incidents

Whenever you use a car park, you should expect adequate safety measures to be in place to ensure you have a safe experience. If car parks are not maintained and defects repaired when needed then the following hazards could cause injuries to those that use them; 

  1. Faulty machinery (such as a payment machine or an exit barrier)
  2. Poorly maintained surfaces (such as potholes or slippery walkways)
  3. Lack of appropriate hazard signage

Have you been injured in a car park accident that wasn’t your fault? Providing that you can prove the owners’ or operators’ negligence to be responsible, you could be owed compensation for your suffering.

Slips, Trips And Falls

Accidents involving slips, trips and falls can cause serious injury. According to a report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), these types of incidents accounted for a third of all reported workplace injuries in 2019. What’s more, over 95% of major slips resulted in broken bones, demonstrating how debilitating they often are.

Who Owes A Duty Of Care In Public Liability Claims?

The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 is a key piece of legislation that those in control of public places must comply with. The regulations outlined help ensure that adequate safety measures are implemented to ensure the wellbeing of visitors. Public places controlled by third parties that commonly owe such a duty of care include:

  1. Public facilities e.g. leisure centres and libraries
  2. Playgrounds and parks
  3. Shops and shopping centres
  4. Roads, pavements and car parks

Whether you think you have grounds to make a claim or aren’t sure, please contact us today for a consultation. These free assessments allow us to both better understand your situation and advise you on how best to proceed. If we then feel that you could be entitled to compensation, we can even connect you to our panel of public liability lawyers to handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis.

In the meantime, please see the next section to learn how you could hold a third-party liable for your suffering.

How Can Someone Be Held Liable For Public Liability?

Public liability insurance is crucial. If you suffer injuries in a shop as a result of the owners’ or operators’ negligence, then you could be able to sue for an injury in a public place.

For example, you may suffer a slip on a supermarket aisle if it’s just been mopped and a hazard sign hasn’t been displayed. In this instance, the supermarket will have failed to have appropriate safety measures in place to prevent you from harm. That means the supermarket owners could be held liable for your suffering. However, if the business has public liability insurance, any compensation that they owe you can be covered.

As well as businesses, local councils are responsible for the safety of visitors to property which they control. 

For example, you may suffer a road traffic accident caused by a dangerous pothole that the council may have ignored. By having an adequate system for the public to report hazards through and making regular maintenance checks and repairs, they can eliminate such dangers. 

Please speak to one of our advisors today to receive your specialist consultation free of charge. If they can see that your public place injury claim has a chance of succeeding they can offer to connect you with our panel of personal injury solicitors. If the solicitors agree to take your case on they will do so on a No Win No Fee basis. 

Public Liability Injury Stats

In this section, we will look at the causes of accidents. There are no relevant stats available at the time of writing to reflect the number of public area accidents so we have used statistics for the workplace instead. Some of the potential hazards which may be present within public places if maintenance is not carried out could possibly include:

  1. Potholes on road surfaces
  2. Faulty playground or outdoor gym equipment
  3. Uneven slabs on pavements
  4. Loose manhole covers
  5. Cracked swimming pool tiles
  6. Ungritted library steps

Summary statistics for 2019/20 from the Health and Safety Executive can give an insight into the types of accidents most commonly suffered in workplaces. The statistics reveal that in the covered time period, 693,000 non-fatal work injuries were reported. The most-reported accidents that caused non-fatal injuries included:

  1. Slips, trips and falls (covering 29% of the reported accidents)
  2. Being struck by moving objects (11%)
  3. Falling from heights (8%)

What injuries could be caused;

  1. Broken Cheekbone
  2. A Broken Rib
  3. Broken Hip

Whatever your situation, please see the next section for information on what to do if you fall victim to a public place accident. Alternatively, please don’t hesitate to speak to one of our specialist advisors today for a free consultation.

What Should I Do If I Suffer An Injury In A Public Place?

If you suffer a public place accident, such as a slip, trip and fall, and wish to claim for it, then you can follow these steps:

  1. First and foremost, seek medical attention for any injuries that you sustained and ensure that the incident is recorded in your medical notes
  2. If possible, make a record of the scene, either photographing it or videoing it
  3. Collect contact details of any witnesses who saw your accident so they can be contacted for supporting statements if necessary

When you’re considering making a personal injury claim, you can choose to hire a solicitor who can assist with your case. If you do wish to hire one, we would recommend getting a solicitor who has experience in handling public place injury claims. To learn how our panel of personal injury solicitors could help you, please get in touch with us today.

What Is The Average Payout For An Injury?

If you’re interested in what type of payout you could be entitled to for your public place injury, this section will discuss how you may be compensated for your suffering.

Typically, general damages can be claimed to cover any harm that you sustained in the incident, whether physical or psychological. This could cover anything from the pain of your injury to the trauma of the accident.

To value an award for general damages, the extent of your suffering is typically evidenced through a medical evaluation with an independent specialist. Both the damage that you have and currently do suffer will be noted, as well as the potential for any future damage. If you choose to work with a solicitor, they can arrange this for you.

Calculating General Damages With A Personal Injury Claim Calculator

With any successful personal injury claim whether that is an accident at work, road traffic accident, or a public place accident claim you can claim general and special damages. As we have mentioned general damages cover pain and suffering whereas special damages cover any financial losses concerned with the injury.

For some example compensation brackets from the Judicial College Guidelines, please see the table below:

InjuryCompensation Bracket
Neck (moderate)£23,460 to £36,120
Neck (minor)£4,080 to £7,410
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (severe)£56,180 to £94,470
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (moderate)£7,680 to £21,730
Back (severe)£85,470 to £151,070
Back (moderate)£26,050 to £36,390
Foot (serious)£23,460 to £36,790
Foot (moderate)£12,900 to £23,460
Shoulder (serious)£11,980 to £18,020
Shoulder (moderate)£7,410 to £11,980

Special Damages

Whereas general damages can be claimed to cover any harm that you sustained in the incident, including physical or psychological, special damages cover financial loss.

If your public place injury caused you to suffer financially, then you may be able to recover any of these losses by claiming special damages. However, it’s usually only possible to claim for special damages through a personal injury claim when you are eligible to claim for any general damages. When attempting to claim for special damages, it’s important to retain receipts and bank statements as evidence. Some commonly claimed-for costs include:

  1. Travel expenses
  2. Medical fees
  3. Care costs
  4. Loss of earnings

No Win No Fee Injury Public Liability Claims

Our panel of personal injury lawyers always handles cases on a No Win No Fee basis. If you’re unfamiliar with these types of agreements, you can typically expect the following benefits:

  1. No upfront or hidden fees
  2. You don’t pay your lawyer unless they win your case
  3. You only have to pay your lawyer a small percentage of your compensation if they win your case

This percentage is called a success fee and is used to cover your solicitor’s fees. As it’s legally capped, there’s no need to worry about losing much of your payout.

How To Find Quality Personal Injury Solicitors

When you’re looking to start a personal injury claim, it’s always good to seek help from a legal professional to handle it. This way, you can ensure that you have the best chances of securing the compensation that you deserve for your suffering. 

Since our panel of personal injury solicitors can be reached via telephone, email and even in-person meetings, they could begin working with you today wherever you are. With years of experience working on a variety of cases for clients all over Britain, why not see what our panel could do for you today?

Contact Us Today

We hope that this article has given you a better understanding of public liability claims and the process of making one. You can learn more information if required by speaking to one of our advisors today.

Also, we offer free consultations, which allow us to better understand your situation and advise you on how best to proceed. If we then feel that you could be entitled to compensation, we can connect you to our panel of personal injury solicitors to handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis.

To get in touch, please use one of the following contact methods:

  1. Fill out one of our contact forms and we’ll call you back
  2. Use our live chat feature at the bottom right of your screen
  3. Call us on 0800 408 7827

Additional Resources

Thank you for reading our guide on how to sue for an injury in a public place. Once again, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today if you’d like to discuss your case and see how we could help you.

In the meantime, here are some additional resources:

Can I complain about my local council?

This online Government page can be used to help you confirm which specific council you should contact if you wish to submit a complaint against your local one.

How does my local council function?

This useful guide from the Government gives a detailed explanation of the different councils which exist and what responsibilities they hold.

How To Sue Your Employer For Compensation

We explain in this guide how you may be able to claim compensation if you are injured at work due to negligence by your employer.

How To Sue For A Criminal Injury

This guide explains how you could claim compensation if harmed by a criminal injury.

How To Sue For A GDPR Data Breach 

We explore in this guide how you may be able to claim compensation if you’ve been affected by a personal data breach.

How To Sue For A Cycling Accident Compensation Claim

This guide focuses on how to make a claim when you’ve been in a cycling accident that wasn’t your fault.

How To Sue For A Concussion

If you’ve suffered concussion in an accident that wasn’t your fault, this guide can help explain how you could get compensation for this.