Accidents in a Public Place (Public Liability)
Despite the numerous health and safety regulations placed on local authorities and private organisations, accidents in public places in the UK continue to result in serious injuries each year.
Local councils, property owners and businesses have a legal duty of care to ensure that public spaces are reasonably safe. If you have been injured in a public place, and the accident was caused by negligence, you may be entitled to pursue public liability injury claims in Bolton.
If a local authority or private organisation is found to be responsible for your injury and related financial losses, they may be held legally accountable for breaching their duty of care.
Who can make a compensation claim for an Accident in a Public Place?
You may be legally entitled to compensation if you have suffered an injury in a public place within the last three years due to negligence by a local authority or private organisation.
Examples of accidents in public places in Bolton may include:
- A road traffic incident caused by potholes or poor pavement maintenance
- A slip or trip in a shop or supermarket due to spills or obstructions
- Poorly lit stairways or unsafe structures
- A fall in a park, school, or play area
If you are asking, “Can I claim for an accident in a public place?”, the answer depends on whether negligence can be established. Our team can assess whether you have valid grounds to pursue accidents in public places claims in Bolton.
Local governments are required to periodically maintain the condition of the pavements and roads within their jurisdictions. This includes inspecting them on a regular basis for potholes, damage, or potential damage, and making any necessary repairs.
However, many local authorities fail to carry out their responsibilities, resulting in many damaged pavements and roads around the UK.
Such poor surfaces can injure unsuspecting walkers, who may get fractures or head and brain injuries as a result of a trip and fall caused by a council’s failure to maintain its roads or pavements.
Private businesses, such as shops and supermarkets, are legally required to keep their premises safe for public use. To accomplish this, businesses must regularly monitor any potential slip and trip hazards on their floors, as well as hazards on shelves that may fall and cause harm, among other things.
Unfortunately, firms frequently fail to satisfy their responsibility to safeguard their consumers’ safety. This can include an employee’s laziness in forgetting to post a sign warning the public that a floor is damp, or bad practice if high shelves are overloaded with heavy things that may fall.
Slips and trips in shops and supermarkets can result in a variety of injuries, ranging from small cuts and scratches to major head and brain injuries, thus it is critical for a firm to be aware of the risks to members of the public on its premises.
What if I don’t know who was to blame?
Local authorities and private companies must ensure that the public can safely access their premises.
If you have suffered injury or financial loss within the last three years but are unsure who was responsible, our specialists can investigate the circumstances, review maintenance records, and advise on the best course of action. We regularly assist clients with injury & accidents in public places claims Bolton, providing clear guidance under UK personal injury law.
What Am I Entitled to Claim For?
If you were involved in an incident in the last 3 years for which you think a local authority or private organisation could be liable, you may be able to claim for the following things:
This consists of compensation for the injury aspect of your public liability injury claim and the impact of those injuries on your past, present and future domestic and social activities.
Long NHS waiting lists may mean that free treatment for the injuries you may have sustained in a public liability incident is not available within a reasonable time frame.
Where this is the case, you may need to get specialist private treatment in order that your treatment may commence as soon as possible to speed up your recovery. Private care can be costly, but your claim for compensation can include the cost of all private treatment so you will not be set back because of your injuries.
Moreover, if you have to purchase painkilling medication or other aids to help your recovery, the cost of these can be recovered as part of your claim for compensation.
The cost of all treatment that you require in the future that is a direct result of the injuries you have sustained in a public liability incident may be included in your claim so you can rely on private medical treatment with no cost to you, instead of being on a long NHS waiting list for free treatment.
If a person sustains injuries in a public liability incident, they may require assistance in carrying out of normal, everyday tasks. For example, if a person has a broken leg and requires a cast, climbing stairs and getting dressed can become extremely difficult to do.
Such situations may lead to family and friends sacrificing their time and employment in order to care for the injured person.
A compensation claim for injuries pertaining to a public liability incident can include the cost of care expenses in order to reimburse the losses suffered by friends and family through their kindness.
A person injured in a public liability incident may be unable to work as a result of their injuries. This could lead to the injured person missing out on salary, overtime pay and bonuses for the time they have missed at work. The injured person may be forced into returning to work on reduced hours or having to quit their employment altogether.
If this is the case, the loss of earnings you have suffered can be calculated and included as part of your claim for compensation.
If you were injured and cannot return to your pre-accident employment, part of your claim can include an attempt to recover compensation for having to give up your chosen career, especially if you had trained for many years and at cost to be a part of that profession.
If injuries mean you cannot return to your pre-accident employment, you may be unable to benefit from your pension.
Where this is the case, a compensation claim can include the cost of the loss of pension you have suffered as a result of your injuries.
If your injuries are persistent, meaning you must have a long spell away from employment or cannot perform in your chosen role as effectively as you previously had, potential employers may think you are an unattractive employment prospect, all because you have suffered injuries through no fault of your own.
If this is the case due to injuries suffered in a public liability incident, your compensation claim can include the losses related to this.
Public liability incidents may cause damage to personal property, such as clothes or mobile phones.
The cost of replacing or repairing these objects can be included as part of your claim for compensation.
Injuries and damage to property sometimes require a person to travel to several places numerous times to see to these matters, such as to the premises of their health care provider or insurer.
Expenses for travel that has been made necessary by the fact that you have sustained injuries and losses due to a public liability incident can be included as part of your claim for compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Making a claim can be overwhelming, so we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions to assist you find the answers you need.
If you lose, you will not be asked to pay anything under the terms of the No Win No Fee service.
In personal injury cases an insurance policy will be taken out in order pay the other sides costs and costs incurred by us on your behalf costs if applicable. This policy will be at no cost to you as it is a self-insured and deferred policy.
The conventional rule is that court proceedings must begin within three years of the date of the accident. If you were under the age of 18 at the time of the accident, you must initiate legal proceedings within three years of your 18th birthday.
If you believe you have a valid claim, you should obtain legal advice as soon as possible to avoid missing the three-year time limit, after which you will be unable to file a claim.
Our solicitors specialise in personal injury cases and always aim to achieve the best results without delay. Cases differ depending on their specific facts and circumstances. Your solicitor will give you an estimate of how long your claim will take.
No, we will collect the majority of the information needed for pursuing your claim over the phone and via email. Our duty is to handle the paperwork, but you will be requested to ensure that all of the information recorded is correct.
In most cases, there is no need to attend court, due to the fact that a settlement is usually achieved through negotiations between your solicitor and the other side’s insurance company.
