No Win, No FeeA night out on the town will usually be a fun evening for the majority of people. Every weekend thousands of us visit nightclubs with friends and have a good time. However, accidents in nightclubs can happen from time to time. Not only can suffering an injury in a nightclub ruin your night, but it could mean you’ll continue to suffer for days, weeks or even months after the event. In this guide about nightclub injury claims, we’ll explain how you could be entitled to compensation for suffering caused by a nightclub accident.
Our team is on hand if you’d like to have your chances of being compensated reviewed for free. During a no-obligation consultation, we’ll review what happened and provide legal advice about what you might do next. If your claim is strong enough and a personal injury solicitor from our panel offers to take it on for you, they will do so on a No Win, No Fee basis which should make your claim a little less stressful.
To find out more about nightclub injury claims, please read on. Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 652 1345 to discuss your case right away.
Can I claim compensation for an injury in a nightclub?
If you have been injured in a nightclub, one of our personal injury lawyers could help you to make a claim if it can be shown that:
- The nightclub owner or its staff were negligent in some way; and
- The negligence caused you to be involved in an accident; and
- You were made ill or sustained an injury.
Essentially, you can only claim for injuries sustained in a nightclub accident that the operator could’ve foreseen but failed to prevent.
We’ll show you what types of negligence could allow you to claim and the sort of proof you could use to show what happened as we progress through this guide.
Protecting nightclub visitors and employees
While there are potential risks to nightclubbers there are also potential risks to employees in nightclub establishments. It is worth noting that nightclub owners/managers have a legal duty to ensure the well-being of their customers and their employees. These obligations are covered by two acts of Parliament which are:
Occupiers Liability Act 1957
This act bestows a legal duty on nightclub owners to ensure the safe well-being of visitors to their premises. In legal terms, visitors to the premises should not be exposed to unnecessary or foreseeable risks which might result in injury. There will be occasions where accidents happen and the nightclub owner is able to prove that they took reasonable steps to avoid accidents and injury. In most cases, there will be a degree of negligence but there are situations where having taken reasonable steps, there may not be a case for compensation even if an individual is injured.
Some of the tasks which nightclub owners need to carry out include:
- Initial risk assessment of the premises.
- Ongoing risk assessments.
- Identification of potential hazards.
- Clearing up of hazards such as spilt drinks, broken glass, etc.
- Ensure that emergency exits are clear at all times.
- Implementation and maintenance of appropriate lighting.
- Avoiding overcrowding.
These are just some of the day-to-day tasks which face nightclub owners when looking to fulfil their legal obligations towards customers.
Health And Safety At Work Act 1974
Even though most accidents and injuries in nightclubs involve customers, we have seen many occasions where employees such as bouncers and other nightclub staff have been injured. While a nightclub owner has a legal obligation to ensure the safe well-being of customers they also have a similar obligation towards their employees. One of the central arguments used when employees pursue nightclub owners for injury compensation is an inability to deliver on this safe well-being obligation. Employee-related issues which nightclub owners need to take into consideration include:
- Appropriate training for all members of staff.
- Ongoing training with regard to health and safety.
- Supply of the relevant safety equipment.
- Clear lines of communication in the event of an incident on the premises.
- Regular risk assessments.
- Allocating the appropriate level of staffing to ensure employee safety.
- A clear and safe working environment.
- Renewal of relevant health and safety licence.
- Allocating appropriately experienced staff to high-risk roles.
It is sometimes easy to forget nightclub owners have as much of an obligation with regard to the safety of their employees as they do customers. The idea that the regular risks faced by many nightclub employees are just “part of the job” is simply wrong. There should be procedures and training in place to avoid such circumstances where possible and if a nightclub owner was found negligent they may well be liable to pay compensation.
Can I claim if I was injured while working in a nightclub?
As mentioned above, nightclub operators need to try and keep their staff as safe as possible. As such, if you’ve been injured while working in a nightclub, you could be compensated if your employer’s negligence caused your accident. For example, you could claim for accidents caused by inadequate training, faulty equipment, inadequate security staff or unsafe working practices.
You are well within your rights to make a claim and you can’t face disciplinary action for doing so. If your claim is taken on by one of our solicitors they’ll manage everything and deal with your employer and their insurers on your behalf.
If you’ve been injured while working in a nightclub and want to check if you could be compensated, please call our team today.
Common nightclub injury claims
Some of the most common injuries that could result in a nightclub injury compensation claim include:
- Cuts and lacerations after falling onto broken glass.
- Stab wounds and facial injuries following an assault.
- Soft tissue injuries after tripping on a damaged carpet.
- Broken and fractured bones.
- Concussion and other head injuries.
- Scalds if a hot drink was spilt on you at the bar.
- Crush injuries caused by overcrowding.
- Food poisoning resulting from undercooked food.
If you have suffered any type of injury in a nightclub and believe you should be compensated, please let us know and we’ll review your case for free.
Hearing loss caused by excessively loud music
It may sound strange to highlight the matter of excessively loud music in a nightclub/entertainment establishment. However, medical research has shown that long-term exposure to excessively loud music can have a major impact on a person’s hearing. If you’ve suffered noise-induced hearing loss or tinnitus, for example, this in itself could offer a potential claim of negligence against a nightclub even though those employed and visiting the establishment did so of their own volition.
Common forms of negligence leading to nightclub injury claims
As we’ve shown, you can only generally claim for your nightclub injuries if the operator’s negligence caused your accident. Here are some examples of when you could claim:
- If you were crushed because the door staff let too many people into the venue.
- Where you were assaulted by somebody who’d been allowed to stay in the club despite an earlier altercation.
- If you were assaulted whilst working in a nightclub because of a lack of security staff.
- Where you slipped and injured yourself in the toilets because of excess water on the floor that had not been cleared up.
- If you tripped in the nightclub’s car park because of a missing or broken paving slab.
These are just a few examples of when you could claim for nightclub injuries. If there’s not a scenario that matches your own, please let us know and we’ll check your options for you.
Criminal injury claims following a nightclub incident
Not all injuries sustained in a nightclub can be blamed on the operator. However, if you’ve been violently attacked in a nightclub, you may be entitled to claim compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). They run a government-backed scheme that compensates innocent victims of violent crimes such as:
- Assault.
- Sexual assault or rape.
- Drink spiking.
If you’ve been attacked in a nightclub, we could help you make a CICA claim. Importantly, so long as you’ve reported the incident to the police, you could still claim even if the criminal was never identified, charged or prosecuted.
How much compensation for a nightclub injury claim?
Every nightclub injury claim is based on how you’ve suffered physically, mentally and financially as a result of your accident. As such, it’s not really possible to say exactly how much compensation for a nightclub injury you might be entitled to until your claim has been assessed properly.
However, the things that can be considered as part of your compensation claim include:
- Any pain and suffering linked to physical injuries.
- Fear, distress, depression and other forms of psychiatric injuries.
- Any income lost because of your injuries.
- Loss of enjoyment of your usual activities.
- Medical expenses.
- Care costs if you needed to be looked after while you were injured.
- Travel expenses.
- Replacing anything that was broken, damaged or ruined in the incident (clothes, jewellery etc).
- For more serious injuries that result in permanent disabilities, you could claim for the cost of making changes to your home that will help you.
- Also, you may be able to claim for any long-term reduction to your income.
Your solicitor will go through everything with you if your claim is taken on to make sure you are compensated fairly.
Providing proof for nightclub injury claims
To make your claim as strong as possible, you’ll need as much proof as possible to show who was to blame for your injuries and how they have affected you. Some examples of the types of proof that might be useful in nightclub injury compensation claims include:
- Photographs and videos. After a nightclub accident, you should use your phone to record the accident scene. Also, while you’re recovering, you should take pictures of your injuries at regular intervals.
- Accident report forms. All nightclubs must have an accident reporting system in place by law. Your copy of the accident report will make it easier to demonstrate where and when you were injured.
- Medical notes. If you went to A&E after your nightclub accident or visited your GP or a minor injuries unit, your medical records and x-rays could help to prove the extent of your injuries.
- Witness statements. It can be much easier to prove how an accident in a nightclub happened if others can vouch for what happened. If you provide any witness information to your solicitor, they may collect statements if needed.
- CCTV footage. Most nightclubs have security cameras inside and outside of the venue. You could therefore ask for a copy of any footage of your accident.
If you haven’t got all of the proof mentioned above, don’t worry. The main thing is to speak to us to see if you have a valid claim. If you do, your solicitor will help you to secure any proof they can to support your claim.
How will my solicitor know how the nightclub accident has affected me?
To prove the severity of your injuries, you will need a medical assessment as part of any nightclub compensation claim. It’s a straightforward process that your solicitor will usually book with a local medical specialist. After you’ve discussed your injuries and you’ve been examined, the specialist will explain your injuries and any ongoing symptoms in their report and send it to your solicitor and the nightclub’s insurers.
No Win, No Fee claims
We strongly believe that it’s best to have legal representation in any type of personal injury claim. Having a specialist solicitor on your side should make the whole process easier and could improve your chances of being compensated.
So that you don’t need to worry about the cost of hiring a personal injury solicitor, ours offer a No Win, No Fee service for any nightclub injury claim they take on. No Win, No Fee essentially means:
- There are no legal fees to pay whatsoever if you lose the claim.
- A success fee will be deducted from any compensation award to cover the cost of your solicitor’s work.
The success fee you’ll pay if your claim is won will be listed in your No Win, No Fee agreement. By law, it cannot be any higher than 25% of the compensation you receive.
Your solicitor will try to make your claim as easy as possible for you by managing the whole process from start to finish. That means you won’t need to speak to the nightclub’s insurers directly.
As your claim progresses, you’ll be given regular updates and any compensation offers will be discussed with you before they are accepted.
Nightclub injury claim time limits
Any nightclub injury claim for personal injuries has a 3-year time limit. For most claims, this period will commence from the date of your accident. However, if you’ve suffered an injury or condition such as hearing loss which hadn’t been diagnosed until the symptoms had become apparent, your claim would generally begin from the date of diagnosis.
As there are usually a fair few tasks that need to be completed before your claim is submitted, it’s often better to start the nightclub injury claims process as early as possible.
How long it takes for a nightclub injury claim to be settled will vary. For relatively straightforward nightclub injury claims, they might be settled in a matter of months. If extra time is needed to fully understand how your injuries will affect you, claims can take significantly longer but interim payments could be made during that time to help you deal with any immediate costs caused by your injuries.
Start a nightclub injury claim today
If you’ve been injured in a nightclub and would like to claim compensation, speak to us on 0800 652 1345 to discuss your options, or request a free consultation here. You will be offered free advice and your claim will be reviewed by a specially trained advisor during your initial consultation.
If one of our solicitors believes they can win compensation for you, they’ll agree to manage your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis. That means you won’t need to worry about losing money on legal fees as you’ll only have to pay your solicitor if you receive compensation for your injuries.
We can answer any questions you have about nightclub injury claims on the phone or via live chat so please feel free to get in touch.
