Slip And Trip Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

In the grand scheme of things, you might not regard a slip or trip as a serious accident. While it’s true that they can often lead to minor issues, in some circumstances, the victim can be left with serious and life-changing injuries. If you’re injured from a slip, trip and fall because somebody else was negligent, there’s a chance you could be entitled to compensation. In this article, we’ll explain when slip and trip claims might be made and what the compensation could cover.

Whether you’ve slipped and fallen in a supermarket, tripped at work, or fallen over a raised paving slab, our team could help you to get compensated. Initially, they’ll review your claim with you and offer free legal advice. They could then ask one of our personal injury solicitors to look at your case in further detail. If the claim appears viable and the solicitor agrees to represent you, they’ll work on a No Win, No Fee basis. That should make the claims process a lot less stressful. That’s because you won’t need to pay for your solicitor’s work unless they win compensation for you.

Would you like us to review your injury claim straight away? If so, please call us on 0800 652 1345 today. Alternatively, please read on to learn more about how slip and trip claims work.

Can I claim compensation for injuries from a slip, trip or fall?

If a personal injury lawyer is to represent you in a slip and trip claim, they’ll check the viability of your case before agreeing to work for you. Essentially, they will try to identify whether:

• The defendant (the party you blame) owed you a legal duty of care; and
• An act of negligence by the defendant caused you to slip or trip; and
• As a result, you sustained injuries.

Legislation is used to check for a duty of care in most cases. You won’t need to worry about this too much as it’s something your solicitor will check before accepting your case. However, there are many scenarios where you’ll be owed a duty of care which means slip and trip claims could be made against:

This is just a small sample of the types of organisations that are likely to owe you a duty of care. That usually means that they should take steps to prevent you from slipping or tripping. Failure to do so could be seen as negligent and could entitle you to compensation.

Importantly, it is possible for slip and trip claims can be made by customers, members of the public, visitors and staff as most businesses will need to try to protect anybody who is on their premises.

What negligence often leads to slip and trip claims?

Some examples of when compensation for a slip, trip or fall could be claimed include:

• If you were hurt in an office after tripping over a cable that was laid across your office floor and not taped down.
• Where you slip on an item of clothing in a shop that staff had failed to pick up promptly.
• Where you tripped on a hazard that was hidden by inadequate lighting.
• If you tripped on a pavement defect (pothole, raised paving slab etc) that was more than 1 inch high.
• If you slipped in a hotel because of a loose carpet.
• If you slip on a spillage in a petrol station that hadn’t been cleared or highlighted with warning signs.

Again, these are just a few examples of when you could be eligible for compensation following a slip or fall. Don’t worry if there’s not a scenario above that matches yours, we’ll still review your case for free and explain your options. So long as somebody else’s negligence caused your accident to happen, we could help you to seek damages.

What injuries could I get compensation for?

There are various ways in which you could be injured following a slip or trip. We won’t list each of them here but some of the more common injuries from slip and trips you could get compensation for include:

• Sprains and strains.
• Soft tissue injuries.
• Concussions and other head injuries.
• Knee and elbow injuries.
• Broken bones.
• Back injuries.

The severity of your injury is one of the main factors used to decide how much compensation for a slip or trip claim could be awarded. As such, during the claims process, it’s very likely you will be asked to see an independent medical expert that our solicitors will usually arrange for you. They will examine you and talk to you about how your injuries have affected you. Once the medical assessment is over, they’ll write a report to show what injuries were caused by your accident and to explain your prognosis.

How much compensation for a slip, trip or fall could I claim?

When you submit a compensation claim for a slip, trip or fall, it’s not a matter of coming up with a sum of money you would like to be paid to settle the matter. Instead, your solicitor will typically need to separate your claim into general damages and special damages. No two claims are the same but you could be entitled to compensation for:

• Any pain and suffering you’ve had to deal with following your fall.
• The impact your injuries have had on your hobbies and social life.
• The income you’ve lost if your injuries stopped you from working.
• The time or costs associated with a carer who supported your recovery.
• The cost of replacing any personal property that was damaged in the accident.
• Travel expenses.
• Medical or rehabilitation costs.
• The cost of modifying your home to help you deal with any long-term injuries.
• Future loss of earnings if your ability to work has been reduced by your injuries.

Getting the slip and trip claims process right is important as you aren’t allowed to request any additional compensation once you’ve settled your case in full. For that reason, if your case is accepted, your solicitor will review all aspects of your suffering to try and secure the highest amount of compensation possible for your injuries.

Providing proof for a slip and trip claim

If you decide to pursue a slip, trip and fall compensation claim, you’ll need evidence to show what happened. There are several steps you could take at the time and after the accident to make the claims process easier. They include:

• Report your accident. Accidents at work, in shops, on business premises and in many public places should be recorded in an accident report book. As such, you should report your fall as soon as possible. Having a copy of your accident form will make it very difficult for the defendant to deny that the accident took place.
• Visit A&E or a minor injuries unit. It’s important to have any injuries dealt with by medical professionals. If you decide to claim compensation for a fall, medical reports and x-rays can be requested to help determine the extent of your injuries.
• Take photographs. Try to take as many pictures as possible before you leave the accident scene if you can. Ideally, try to capture the scene before anything is moved.
• Obtain CCTV recordings. You are legally allowed to ask for camera footage that contains a recording of you. Act swiftly to secure any footage of your accident before it is deleted.
• Speak to witnesses. If anybody else was present when you slipped or tripped, ask them for their contact details. Your solicitor might contact them during the claims process to provide a statement of what they saw.
• Keep a diary. It can be quite difficult to recall everything when asked by your solicitor. For that reason, it’s a good idea to write things down. Try to keep track of any expenses you incurred as well as dates that you couldn’t work or attend social events as a result of your injuries. Also, take pictures of your injuries throughout your recovery.

Our team are happy to review your evidence with you during your free consultation. Collate what you may already have and give us a call on 0800 652 1345.

Tripped on a pothole?

If you are claiming after tripping on a pavement defect such as a pothole or raised paving slab, you’ll need to clearly show that the defect that caused your accident was higher or deeper than 1 inch. Claims are unlikely to proceed for smaller defects. If you’re able to, you should return to the scene of the accident with a ruler or tape measure and use them in your photographs to prove how big the defect was.

Time limits for slip and trip claims

You may already know that personal injury claims must be made within a 3-year time limit. For slip and trip claims, this will usually start from the date of your accident.

While you might consider 3-years to be plenty of time, we’d suggest that you start the claims process as soon as possible. That will give your solicitor plenty of time to arrange for medical reports and supporting evidence to be gathered. Furthermore, you’re likely to find it much easier to recall how the events leading to your accident unfolded.

Will I need to go to court?

Generally, slip and trip claims don’t end up in court. They can usually be settled between the defendant and claimant amicably one way or another. However, a very small number of cases do require a hearing where liability or the settlement amount cannot be agreed upon.

How long will my claim take?

You could be compensated in around 6 months’ time if you’ve recovered fully from your injuries and the defendant has admitted liability for the accident. However, claims can take longer if extra time is needed to understand the extent of your injuries or if negotiation is needed to decide who was responsible for the accident.

Can I claim if my child was hurt in a fall?

Yes, this is something we can help with. As a child cannot represent themselves legally, a parent or guardian is able to represent them in a personal injury claim. There is no time limit for child injury claims so long as you begin before the child turns 18 years old. Please get in touch to find out more if your child has tripped in a playground accident, for instance, due to damaged safety flooring.

No Win No Fee slip, trip and fall claims

We believe that it’s easier to win a personal injury claim if you have specialist legal representation. We also understand that most claimants don’t want to risk losing money on solicitors’ fees. To enable as many people as possible to benefit from their legal skills, our solicitors offer a No Win No Fee service.

If your claim is accepted, your solicitor will send you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is the technical name for a No Win No Fee agreement. It will explain what criteria need to be met before you’ll need to pay your solicitor for their work. Head over to this page for more information on how a CFA works.

If your claim fails, you don’t need to pay your solicitor for their time or expenses. If the claim is won, they’ll deduct a success fee from your compensation. This is an agreed percentage of your settlement amount. Legally, you will not be charged more than 25% of your compensation when using a CFA.

If you’d like to check whether you could use one of our No Win No Fee solicitors, please contact our team today.

Start a slip and trip claim today

We hope our article about slip and trip claims has been helpful. If you are thinking of starting a claim, call our team to discuss your options on 0800 652 1345.

You’ve got nothing to lose by calling as you’ll be given free legal advice whatever you decide to do and any claim that our solicitors accept will be dealt with on a No Win No Fee basis. What’s more, everything is done on the phone, by email or online so everything’s as easy for claimants as possible.

If you would like to know anything else about slip and trip claims, please contact our team via live chat, or arrange a claims consultation here.