Pub Or Bar Injury Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

While many of us enjoy a night out in a pub or a few social drinks in a bar, the mix of lots of people, alcohol and loud music can cause problems on occasion. While a trip to a pub or bar is fun for most, their enjoyment can be ruined if they’re injured in an accident. If you are injured in a pub and the operator’s negligence caused your accident, it’s possible you could be compensated for your suffering.

The team at ClaimsAction.co.uk is here to help if you’d like to begin a claim. Contacting us is an easy way to find out if your claim has a reasonable chance of success. An advisor will review what happened with you, check your options and could refer you to one of our personal injury solicitors if the claim against the pub is strong enough. Any claim taken on by our solicitors is handled on a No Win, No Fee basis. As a result, legal fees only have to be paid if you are awarded compensation.

To learn more about when a pub injury claim might be possible, please read on. If you’d rather speak to a specialist advisor straight away, please call 0800 652 1345.

Can I claim compensation for being injured in a pub accident?

If you wish to seek compensation for an accident in a pub or bar, you’ll need to prove that:

• You were owed a duty of care by the venue’s operator; and
• Their negligence caused an accident or incident at the pub/bar to happen; and
• You were injured during the course of that accident.

Establishing whether a duty of care exists in this context is quite straightforward. If you’re a customer or visitor in the pub, the operator will owe you a duty of care under the Occupiers Liability Act 1984. If you’re injured while working in a pub or bar, the Health and Safety Act 1974 will usually provide the required duty of care.

Common pub and bar injury claims

Under personal injury law, it is possible to claim compensation for just about anything other than the most minor injuries caused by somebody else’s negligence. Some of the most common injuries sustained in pub and bar accidents include:

• Falls due to ill-maintained equipment such as chairs and tables.
• Tripping on broken tiles and carpets.
• Slipping on wet floors in flooded toilet facilities.
• Burns where hot food and beverages are served.
• Falls due to excessive crowding.
• Food poisoning from undercooked meat.

It should be noted that pub injury claims can be based on accidents inside the pub, in a pub garden or in the pub’s car park.

Proving negligence in pub or bar injury claims

There are many examples of negligence when it comes to pub or bar compensation claims, the most common of which relate to:

• Substandard staff training.
• Understaffing.
• Badly maintained flooring and furnishings.
• Lack of crowd control.
• Lack of security.
• Failure to fulfil a duty of care to customers.
• Misreporting of accidents and criminal activity.
• Serving customers obviously under the influence of alcohol.
• Lack of appropriate signage.

It is up to the claimant to prove negligence, on behalf of one or more parties, beyond a reasonable doubt in order to pursue a successful pub/ bar accident claim. There will be situations where accidents occur, where customers have done nothing wrong and a claim might seem reasonable. However, if the pub or bar business operator has taken all reasonable steps to maintain the safety of the premises and those using the facilities, this may offer them a degree of protection.

We provide some examples of how you could prove fault for a pub injury claim shortly.

Common causes of injuries to pub and bar staff

If you work in a pub or bar, your employer must take reasonable steps to try and keep you as safe as possible. This is the same as any other workplace. As such, you could be compensated for injuries caused by:

• Faulty, damaged or poorly maintained equipment in the pub’s kitchen for example.
• A lack of proper training.
• Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when using chemicals such as cleaning products.
• Tiredness because you’d been forced to work too many hours.
• A lack of manual handling training leading to injuries when moving barrels.

You may also want to know that you are legally allowed to claim against your employer without fear of reprisal for doing so. That means that you cannot be sacked, picked on, bullied or treated any differently for making a pub injury claim.

Please get in touch today and we’ll review your chances of being compensated for free.

Can I claim compensation for being assaulted in a pub or bar?

If you were beaten up in a pub, assaulted, knifed, bottled or injured in any other form of criminal activity, you might not be able to claim compensation against the pub directly (unless the actions of its staff caused the incident). You could still receive compensation though.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) exists to compensate victims of violent crimes. The process of claiming is very similar to a personal injury claim but the criteria are slightly different. The main thing to bear in mind is that you must have reported the crime to the police as soon as possible. Also, CICA claims have a 2-year time limit.

To check whether you should make a criminal injury claim please contact our team of specialist advisors.

How much compensation for a pub injury claim?

There are two elements to any pub injury claim:

• General damages – for pain and suffering.
• Special damages for any associated costs.

The amount awarded as general damages is based on how severe your injuries were. However, we can’t tell you how much you could be awarded here but you’ll find out when your claim has been assessed properly. This involves a medical assessment with an independent expert who’ll examine you and discuss how you’ve suffered before writing a report on your prognosis.

The following list includes some of the things any successful pub injury claim might cover:

• Your physical pain and suffering (during the incident and while you recover).
• Loss of earnings that relate to your injuries.
• Psychiatric harm caused by distress, depression or anxiety.
• Any negative impact your injuries have had on your normal social activities and hobbies.
• The cost of private medical treatment and physiotherapy.
• Any costs relating to the time that somebody spent caring for you.
• Replacement costs for clothing, phones, jewellery and other items of personal property damaged in the accident.
• Travel expenses such as fuel costs associated with your treatment needs.
• Home adaptations and modifications if you’re left with a disability and they’ll help to make life easier.

There is a lot to consider when making a pub injury claim and that’s one of the reasons we suggest using a personal injury lawyer to support you. If your claim is handled by one of ours, they’ll learn exactly how you’ve been affected to try and secure as much compensation as possible.

Providing proof for a pub injury claim

At the time of the accident in the pub, you probably won’t be thinking about how to claim compensation for your injuries. However, there are some useful steps you can take afterwards to try and make winning a pub or bar injury claim easier. They are:

• Report the accident. Let the operators of the bar or pub know about the incident as soon as possible. After you have done, ask for a copy of the accident report form which you are entitled to.
• Seek medical assistance. It’s important to have any injuries checked over by a medical professional. If you visit a minor injuries unit or A&E, your injuries should be properly diagnosed and treated. Medical records can be obtained later to confirm the diagnosis.
• Photograph the cause of the accident. If you can do so, it’s a good idea to take pictures of the accident scene as soon as you can. In a perfect world, these pictures would be taken before anything is moved.
• Talk to witnesses. To help corroborate what happened, it’s a good idea to collect details of anybody who saw you get injured in the pub or bar. They may be contacted later by your solicitor if a statement is needed.
• Request CCTV footage. Most pubs and bars have cameras to help protect their staff and customers. Legally, you’re entitled to request a copy of any relevant footage but you’ll need to act quickly as data is usually only kept for a month or so.
• Report the incident to the police. If you were assaulted in a pub or bar, you should let the police know what happened and ask for a crime reference number.

If you would like any help obtaining proof to support your pub injury claim or would like us to review anything you’ve already secured, please call our advice centre today.

Pub injury claim time limits

The Limitation Act 1980 sets a 3-year time limit for a personal injury claim. For most pub or bar injury claims, this will start from the date of the accident. However, if your child was injured in a pub garden, for example, the time limit doesn’t apply (until they turn 18) and you can take action as their litigation friend at any point before their 18^th birthday.

There are a number of reasons why it’s often better to begin the pub injury claims process as soon as possible including:

• The proof is very often easier to secure.
• There’s plenty of time for your injuries to be assessed independently.
• You could receive an interim payment to cover earnings lost or pay for medical bills before the claim is finalised (where the defendant has accepted liability).

Compensation for pub or bar injury claims could be paid out in around 6 to 9 months if the claim isn’t contested by the defendant. However, claims where your medical prognosis is not clear or where the defendant denies liability could take longer.

No Win, No Fee claims

The thought of losing money if you lose a pub injury claim might seem quite off-putting for many. For that reason, our solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service for pub injury claims.

Without being paid any legal fees in advance, your solicitor will:

• Consult with you to find out how you’ve suffered following your accident.
• Arrange for your injuries to be reviewed by an independent expert.
• Contact the pub or bar to let them know of your claim.
• Deal with the pub’s insurers so you don’t need to be involved.
• Attempt to counter any objections regarding liability for the accident or your injuries.
• Aim to maximise any settlement amount you receive following a successful claim.

If your pub injury claim is won, a success fee would be deducted to cover your solicitor’s time and costs.

Start a bar or pub injury claim today

The easiest way to find out if you could be entitled to compensation following an accident in a pub or bar is to call our team on 0800 652 1345.

They’ll review your options with you carefully and could partner you with one of our specialist solicitors. All accepted claims are dealt with on a No Win, No Fee basis.

For further advice on a pub injury claim, please contact our specialists on the phone or via live chat.