Health and safety and data protection laws give protection to both your well-being and the privacy of your personal information. You could be eligible to sue a community centre if you:
- Suffered an injury as the result of a breach of duty of care in a community centre
- Suffered harm because a community centre failed to sufficiently protect your data, resulting in a data breach
How to sue a community centre guide
This guide will include information on both personal injury and data breach claims, and how the claims process differs between these two circumstances. We’ll also look at how a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you.
If you want to speak to someone directly about making a claim, you can chat with one of our advisers now. They offer free legal advice and can discuss your situation with you.
You can reach out to one now using:
- The number at the top of the page
- Our contact us page
- The live chat feature
Choose A Section
- How To Sue A Community Centre For Personal Injury
- Examples Of Accidents In A Community Centre
- How To Sue A Community Centre For A Data Breach
- How Much Compensation Could I Get In A Claim Against A Community Centre?
- What Is The Cost Of A No Win No Fee Agreement?
- Learn More About How To Sue A Community Centre
How To Sue A Community Centre For Personal Injury
Every building made open to public use has to follow public health and safety laws. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 put a responsibility on the person in control of an area (known in the legislation as the occupier, although they don’t need to occupy the space) to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of people who use the space for the purpose intended.
This responsibility is known as a duty of care. Under the duty, an occupier has to look for risks to people’s safety in their premises and either manage or remove them to prevent accidents and injuries.
If the person in control of a community centre fails to take these steps and you’re injured as a result, then you could claim. Reach out to one of our advisers for information on how you can sue a community centre.
Examples Of Accidents In A Community Centre
There are several ways that a breach of duty of care could lead to an accident that causes you to be injured. Accidents in a community centre could happen because of:
- Poor housekeeping: Slip and trip accidents can occur if the wrong cleaning solution was used on a floor, causing it to remain unreasonably slippy even when dry. A slip or fall could cause an injury such as a broken hip or concussion.
- Lack of maintenance: Buildings need maintenance over time. Performing maintenance when needed, alongside checks on the building, can help prevent serious hazards like loose handrails that could cause an injury resulting in a break or fracture.
- Lack of fire safety procedures: Spaces like community centres should have procedures in place if a fire breaks out. If there are no fire exits, for example, then this could cause someone to be burned if a fire were to take place.
If you are looking to sue a community centre for your injury, then please speak to one of our advisers for information on whether you have a valid claim.
Evidence:
Evidence that proves the circumstances of the accident can help strengthen your claim. If possible, you can collect it in the form of:
- Witnesses: If someone witnessed your accident, or the hazard that led to you being injured, collect their contact details as they could provide a statement.
- CCTV (or similar recordings): Any footage or photographs of the circumstances of your injury can also act as evidence.
- Medical records: Medical records of appointments or treatment you have received can act as evidence of the severity of the injury. This is one of the reasons why you should always seek medical attention if you’ve been injured.
A personal injury solicitor can advise you on specific evidence to gather in support of your claim. For more information on how to sue a community centre, please speak with one of our advisers.
How To Sue A Community Centre For A Data Breach
Your personal data is protected by data protection laws. In the UK, the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 make up the regime that states how personal data should be protected.
Personal data is data that can be used to identify you, either in isolation or when it’s combined with other information. Information must be stored, either digitally or physically, in order to be considered data.
If a community centre has collected your personal data and failed to protect it, resulting in a security incident that has affected its availability, confidentiality or integrity, then this is an example of a personal data breach.
You could be eligible to sue the community centre if you suffer harm because they failed to sufficiently protect your information. Some examples of data breaches could include:
- You are sent an email without the BCC function in place. Everyone else who received the email can see your email address, even though they don’t have the authorisation to do this.
- You sign up for a class at your local community centre, and the person putting on the class puts a list on their door of everyone who attends. This means that your full name and address is on display.
For more information about what could be considered a data breach, please speak to one of our advisers. They can offer free legal advice on how to sue a community centre.
How Much Compensation Could I Get In A Claim Against A Community Centre?
Damages in personal injury claims
If you are making a personal injury claim, you can seek out compensation to address the injury you suffered and any financial losses you have suffered because of it.
The compensation amount you would seek for the injury you suffered is known as general damages. Legal professionals use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them assess potential compensation amounts for injuries.
We’ve included a table featuring some figures from the JCG below:
| Injury | Award |
|---|---|
| Very Severe Brain Damage | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Severe Neck Injuries (i) | In the region of £148,330 |
| Minor Neck Injuries (iii) | Up to £2,300 |
| Serious Damage to Both Hands | £52,310 to £79,360 |
| Moderate Shoulder Injuries | £7,890 to £12,770 |
| Less Serious Hand Injury | £14,450 to £29,000 |
| Moderate Ankle Injury | £13,740 to £26,590 |
| Modest Foot Injury | Up to £13,740 |
| Illness/Damage Resulting from Non-traumatic Injury: (ii) | £9,540 to £19,200 |
| Illness/Damage Resulting from Non-traumatic Injury: (iii) | £3,950 to £9,540 |
However, please be aware that these are only guidelines; you’re not guaranteed this amount.
You can also seek out compensation for financial losses you have suffered because of the injury. This type of compensation is known as special damages and can only be awarded alongside general damages.
These could include:
- Loss of income
- Costs towards treatment
- Modifications to your house to cope with the injury
Damages in data breach claims
In data breach claim, you can seek out compensation for mental harm and financial losses either separately or together.
You can seek out compensation for financial losses in a data breach claim, and they’re referred to as material damages. For example:
- Stolen money: If your information was used to steal money from your bank account
- Loss of income: If you sustained a mental injury as the result of the breach, and this affected your ability to work.
You can also seek compensation for non-material damages, which cover any psychological harm you have suffered from the data breach. The JCG is used to value this head of claim, too.
Our advisers can offer you more information on the two types of claims and the compensation you could receive in data breach or personal injury claims. Get in touch for free legal advice on how to sue a community centre.
What Is The Cost Of A No Win No Fee Agreement?
A Conditional Fee Agreement is an arrangement that you can use to fund the services of a solicitor. It is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement, and it sets out the conditions that need to be met before your lawyer receives payment for working on your claim.
You will not have to pay an initial fee in order for your solicitor to start working on a claim in a No Win No Fee agreement. You will not have to pay any ongoing costs, either.
Their fee comes as a legally capped, previously agreed to percentage of the compensation in the event that your claim is a success. If your claim was not successful, you would not have to pay your lawyer for their services.
If you would like to speak to a solicitor about representing you using a No Win No Fee Agreement, or would simply like more information on how to sue a community centre, reach out to one of our advisers now to discuss your claim.
Speak To Us About How To Sue A Community Centre
Our advisers offer free initial consultations and can talk to you in-depth about how to sue a community centre if you have a valid claim.
You can reach them now using:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
- Our contact page
- Using the live chat feature on your screen now
Learn More About How To Sue A Community Centre
For other additional information you might need:
The ICO offers a guide on how to raise a concern if your data was mishandled.
The Health and Safety Executive provide information on slips and trips.
The NHS have information on how to tell if you’ve broken a bone in an accident.
Thank you for reading our guide on how to sue a community centre. We also offer guides on other topics such as:
Please get in touch with our advisers for any more questions you might have on how to sue a community centre.
Article by Cha
Edited by Sto