This guide will explore examples of public liability claims and when you could be eligible to pursue one. We start by looking at different types of potential public liability claims and provide examples of how you might suffer harm in those scenarios.
Additionally, we discuss the eligibility criteria you must satisfy to be able to make a personal injury claim, including how long you have to start one. This guide also addresses the usefulness of evidence in supporting your public liability claim, including providing examples. We then discuss how your claim may be valued and what your final settlement could comprise of.
To conclude, we examine the benefits of working with one of the No Win No Fee lawyers on our panel for your public liability injury claim.
To discuss your potential compensation claim and receive free advice today, you can contact our advisors. They can also help answer any questions you may have about the claiming process.
You can contact them by:
- Calling 0113 460 1216
- Filling in our ‘Claim online‘ form the receive a callback.
- Using the live chat feature.
Jump To A Section
- Examples Of Public Liability Claims
- Can I Claim Compensation For A Public Accident?
- Proving Liability After An Accident In A Public Place
- Examples Of Public Liability Claims Payouts
- Make A Public Liability Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
Examples Of Public Liability Claims
There are various ways that you could be injured in an accident in a public place. Some examples include:
- Accident in a park – A swing set in a public park had not been regularly maintained. When your child sits on this swing, the faulty metal chain breaks causing the swing to break and your child suffers a serious back injury.
- Accident in a restaurant – You slip on a spillage due to no wet floor signs being displayed. This causes you to suffer a leg injury.
- Accident in a supermarket – While you are shopping, stock on a shelf falls on-top of you due to it not being properly and safely stacked. This causes you to suffer multiple injuries such as a head injury and neck injury.
These are only a few potential examples of public liability claims. To be able to have a valid claim, you must be able to meet the eligibility requirements. Continue reading this guide to find out what these requirements are. You can also contact our advisors to discuss your specific case.
Can I Claim Compensation For A Public Accident?
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 outlines that a person or organisation in control of a public place owes a duty of care to ensure the reasonable safety of anyone using the premises for its intended purpose. These parties are otherwise known as ‘occupiers’. To maintain their duty of care, an occupier could perform regular maintenance checks and risk assessments.
If an occupier were to breach their duty of care, this could cause you to become injured. To be able to make a public liability claim, you will need to demonstrate that your case meets the following criteria:
- A duty of care was owed to you by an occupier.
- A breach of this duty occurred.
- You suffered harm as a result of this breach.
Is There A Public Liability Claim Time Limit?
In addition to the eligibility criteria, you must also ensure that you begin the claiming process within the time limit set out within the Limitation Act 1980. This is 3 years from the date your accident took place.
However, there are exceptions to the general rule. If someone under 18 is injured, they wouldn’t be able to claim for themselves until they become 18. During this time limit suspension, a litigation friend could start a claim on their behalf. If no claim has been started on their behalf, the claimant would have 3 years from their 18th birthday to begin their own claim.
Additionally, if someone lacked the mental capacity to claim independently, the time limit will be suspended. It will only be reinstated if the claimant regains the capacity to make their own claim. In this case, they would then have 3 years from this recovery date to start the claiming process. Alternatively, a litigation friend could claim on their behalf during the suspension.
Contact our team of advisors now to learn more about the eligibility criteria or time limits. Our advisors could also provide a free consultation, and if you have a valid personal injury claim, they may offer to pass you over to a solicitor from our panel.
Proving Liability After An Accident In A Public Place
As part of your public liability claim, you will need to gather evidence that supports your case. This evidence will need to prove the injuries suffered and who was liable for them.
Examples of evidence that you could use to support your case include:
- Your medical records detailing the injuries sustained and the medical treatment you received for them
- CCTV footage of the accident taking place.
- Witnesses contact details so that a legal professional can take a statement from them at a later date.
- Photographs of your injuries that are visible and of the accident site.
If your case is valid, a solicitor from our panel could help you gather evidence as part of their service. To see if you could work with one of them, contact our team of advisors now, who could also discuss examples of public liability claims with you.
Examples Of Public Liability Claims Payouts
If your public liability claim is successful, you could receive a settlement including up to two heads of loss. One of those heads of loss is general damages, which compensates you for the pain and suffering you experienced due to your injuries.
The amount of general damages you’re awarded will depend on several factors like:
- Any loss of enjoyment you’ve experienced.
- The severity of your injuries.
- The time it takes you to recover.
Additionally, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may help those valuing your claim. This document provides guideline compensation brackets for different severities for a range of injuries.
Below we have provided some of these compensation guidelines listed within the JCG. Still, please note that we cannot guarantee the compensation you could be awarded since all cases are different. Additionally, the first entry has not been taken from the JCG.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries And Special Damages | Severe | Up to £200,000+ | Compensation for multiple injuries that are severe in nature and special damages such as prescription fees, care costs and lost earnings. |
| Arm | Severe | £96,160 to £130,930 | Injuries falling short of amputation, leaving the person little better off than if it had. |
| Less Severe Injury | £19,200 to £39,170 | Significant disabilities but with a substantial degree of recovery. | |
| Back | Severe (ii) | £74,160 to £88,430 | Nerve root and spinal cord damage, causing severe pain and an impaired bladder and bowel. |
| Moderate (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | Crush or compression fractures in the lumbar vertebrae, with substantial risk of osteoarthritis and constant pain. | |
| Ankle | Very Severe | £50,060 to £69,700 | Includes transmalleolar fracture with extensive soft tissue damage. |
| Moderate | £13,740 to £26,590 | Fractures, ligamentous tears and the like giving rise to less serious disabilities. | |
| Elbow | Severe | £39,170 to £54,830 | A severely disabling injury to the elbow. |
| Less Severe | £15,650 to £32,010 | Causing partial impairment of function but not significant disability. | |
| Foot | Serious | £24,990 to £39,200 | Traumatic arthritis giving continuous pain or risk of future arthritis. |
| Moderate | £13,740 to £24,990 | Displaced metatarsal fractures, giving permanent deformity and continuing symptoms. |
Special Damages
The second head of loss you could receive is special damages, which compensates you for costs you have incurred due to your injuries. You should keep evidence of your losses to help support your claim for special damages.
Examples of losses you could claim for and the evidence you could use to support them include:
- Payslips that highlight your loss of earnings due to being unable to work
- Receipts for any prescriptions fees you have had to pay.
- Bus tickets to prove your travel expenses to essential appointments.
Contact our advisors now, to receive a free valuation of your case or to receive examples of public liability claims payouts.
Make A Public Liability Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis
If you contact out advisors to discuss your case, they could help you seek legal advice by connecting you with one of the public liability claims lawyers or solicitors on our panel, provided your case is valid. As part of their services, the solicitors on our panel can help you with gathering supporting evidence, and negotiating your settlement.
Additionally, they may offer to provide their legal representation to you via a Conditional Fee Agreement. With this type of No Win No Fee contract in place, some of the benefits include:
- No upfront legal costs or fees would need to be paid for your solicitor to begin working on the claim.
- There wouldn’t be any service fees to pay while the claim is in progress.
- No fees would be required for the services of your solicitor if your claim was unsuccessful.
- A success fee would be paid to your solicitor if your claim won, which is a percentage of your compensation, subjected to a legal cap.
Contact Us
To find out some examples of public liability claims our panel of solicitors have worked on, you can contact our advisors. They can also offer you free advice for your specific case and answer any questions you may still have about the claiming process.
You can contact them by:
- Calling 0113 460 1216
- Filling in our ‘Claim online‘ form the receive a callback.
- Using the live chat feature.
Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
To read more of our helpful guides, please look below:
- Guidance on making a hairdresser accident claim and the potential compensation you could receive.
- If you have been injured in an accident on a train, this guide discusses when you may be able to make a claim.
- Advice if you have had an accident in an airport and whether you could make a personal injury claim.
For some external resources, please look here:
- Guidance on what insurance does a small business need from Gov.UK, including public liability insurance.
- When to administer first aid from the NHS.
- The vision and mission of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
To discuss your case or to receive additional examples of public liability claims, you can contact our advisors.