Whether it’s caused by dangers like poor lighting, wet floors, and uneven roadways, slip, trip, and fall accidents can happen anywhere. They occur because of poor housekeeping, like business owners who fail to keep public areas safe. Any business is responsible for providing and maintaining safety in areas where workers and clients pass by and in stockrooms as well.
Slips, trips, and falls can happen all the time and in pretty much any place, including offices, restaurants, shops, supermarkets, and other public areas. Unsurprisingly, such accidents cause injuries and are very difficult to deal with. Personal injury lawyers help people get their lives back on track after suffering injuries, and you can imagine how disturbing slips, trips, and falls can be. They can stop you from enjoying everyday things, not to mention your ability to work and earn money for a living. If you have been injured in the past three years due to someone else’s fault, it’s time to claim compensation.
How to claim compensation for a slip, trip, and fall accidents
The first thing you need to do is to call a lawyer for a consultation. A personal injury lawyer can help you if you have suffered an injury, including:
- Slipping due to uncleaned spill
- Tripping over things or on uneven pavement
- Falling stairs due to a rough surface
- Falling from height (ramp)
Who is responsible for the accident? If you are in a public place, the owner is responsible for your accident. If you’ve suffered injuries, you can claim compensation from the company accountable. This can be a supermarket, private business, shopping centre, local authority, school, or a council.
How much time do you have to make a claim?
Usually, you have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim. There are some exceptions to the rule, especially regarding children. It’s suggested to start your claim as soon as possible from the date of the accident to make it easier to collect evidence and support your claim.
Can you make a No Win No Fee claim in the UK? You might want to hire a lawyer to represent you in court, but you also don’t want to pay the upfront fees. So, you might find helpful a No Win No Fee agreement. This type of settlement allows you to use the help of a lawyer while avoiding all the upfront costs. In addition, if your lawyer fails in court, you won’t have to pay all the fees. If your claim is successful, you must pay a small success fee. However, your lawyer will inform you of all the costs before starting the lawsuit. Please don’t wait and get in touch with a solicitor today.
Are you eligible to claim compensation for a slip, trip, and fall accident?
To ensure you’re eligible to claim compensation, try to check whether the defendant is someone who owes you a duty of care. If the task was breached because of the accident, and your injuries are wholly credited to that accident, then you’re eligible to claim compensation.
Do you need evidence to support your claim?
Of course. When deciding to claim a slip, trip, or fall accident, it’s critical to show evidence to support your claim. You must demonstrate who was to blame, how the accident happened, and what injuries you’ve suffered. Thus, you must:
- Take pictures; ideally, capture the accident scene before anything was moved. Include the cause of the slip, fall, or trip in pictures, if possible.
- Seek medical help; Injuries must be treated by a doctor. If you decide to make a claim, your medical bills and notes can be collected from the healthcare department that treated you.
- Get camera footage; witness statements are beneficial, but you must look for the closest CCTV and get a copy of the footage before it’s erased.
- Ask eyewitnesses for details; witness statements can be beneficial if the defendant doesn’t take responsibility for the accident. Thus, ask witnesses for contact details, like home address, phone numbers, and names.
- Report the accident; if you get involved in an accident, it’s necessary to report it. A report copy could help you prove the date, location, and time of your accident.
Injuries that can result from slips, trips, and falls
People have become more aware of the recent potential dangers happening in the workplace. Things have never seemed so hazardous before in the workplace, for example. Among other workplace injuries, slips, trips, and falls are the most common. You might imagine how dramatic these events are, including incidents like falls from height. The most common injuries are, not surprising, fractures and dislocated joints. Knee injuries, along with superficial cuts, bruises, burns, and open wounds, commonly occur. Most falls at the workplace aren’t serious, but 2% become fatal injuries. Slips, trips, and falls are cases that can lead to:
- Spinal cord damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Shoulder injury
- Neck injury
- Broken hips or pelvis
- Torn tendons, ligaments, and muscles
- Limb fractures
Conclusion
As you can see, injuries coming from trips, slips, and falls can be very severe, resulting in long-term recovery and other health issues that can be costly. Thus, if you’ve been involved in a slip, trip, or fall accident, you must seek compensation from the people responsible; a personal injury lawyer can help you document your injuries, prove liability, and negotiate a correct settlement to pay for you medical costs.
Regardless of how simple the case may seem, you’ll likely need a lawyer to prove your innocence and take your case further. A professional lawyer has the legal knowledge and skills to deliver a good claim and win your case. To prevent you from dealing with complex legal matters, your lawyer will take all the responsibility for communicating with the defendant.