UK SLIP AND TRIP FALLS COMPENSATION CLAIMS

Slip and trip falls in public or private places are an area of law that has many substantial differences from other areas of personal injury law. Judges do not in the main subscribe to the idea that all areas where pedestrians are allowed to walk should be perfectly level and even and do not apply the standards of a bowling green to our pavements and walkways.

There are a number of factors that must be balanced including the perceived number of pedestrians who will use an area. The standard of maintenance and inspection to be observed in a busy pedestrian shopping precinct will be considerably higher than in a suburban street or at the other end of the scale a country lane. In short there are no hard and fast rules and each case is considered on its merits after consideration of a number of relevant factors.

The rules relating to local authorities and maintenance of public footpaths has built up over many decades. If a highway authority can show that it has a reasonable inspection regime and that repairs are carried out efficiently thereafter then it will escape liability for slip and trip falls occurring as a result of defects that have arisen in the intervening period between inspections. What is a reasonable period between inspections depends on the usage of a particular property and while the period can be 6 months or less in a very busy place it can be 3 years or more in a low population density country area. Highway authorities often use their inspection records to back up their defence however it is possible to call the records into doubt and succeed in a case if an independent witness is willing to contradict the authorities records.

Accidents in private places including homes, shops and sports arenas can often succeed even though the owner of the property was not personally responsible for substances on floors that cause slip and trip falls. Property owners have a legal duty to take care for the safety of people on their property and they must have a satisfactory inspection regime to ensure that any danger is removed as soon as possible. The classic example of this is the spill on the supermarket floor which may have been caused by a faulty container or a careless or reckless customer. The store will never the less be liable for any claim if it can be shown that they did not have an adequate inspection or cleaning regime.

We are a group of specialist personal lawyers operating throughout the United Kingdom who deal exclusively in accident compensation claims. We have significant experience in dealing with these claims and we are fully conversant with all of the specific regulations relating to these cases. We use the no win no fee scheme and compensation is paid in full with no deductions. You will not be expected to fund or finance your claim as it proceeds. We guarantee without reservation that our claims are completely risk free.