Slipping on a wet floor has been both the butt of slapstick humour as well as a common stereotype for claims for personal injury for countless years. But for those who have ever slipped on a wet floor and hurt themselves, it’s no laughing matter.
Slipping due to a floor being wet, or having some article or debris on the floor causing the surface to become slippery, is one of the most common forms of accidents we advise people about and represent victims for claims for compensation. In reality, you can end up slipping anywhere whilst out and about for a whole host of reasons. You might slip on some spilt food or drink in a supermarket, a wet floor in a shopping mall entrance, or at work after your colleague has mopped up the floor.
But – can you claim for compensation after slipping due to a dangerous or wet floor?
You are entitled to make a claim for compensation if you slip over on a wet floor. Whether your claim will win or not is entirely circumstantial.
In the majority of cases, if you slip over in a shop, or a supermarket, or another public place, you can make a claim under what is known as the Occupier Liability Act. This important piece of legislation means that the proprietor of premises has an important duty of care to ensure that you are safe when using their premises.
To uphold this, most places will have a system of regular inspection and maintenance in place. By regularly checking aisles in a supermarket, entrances to a shop, and all areas where the public has access, the risk of someone slipping on a hazard is greatly reduced. Wet floor signs and cordons should be used to warn of hazards that cannot be immediately cleared.
So – how do you know if you have a claim for compensation? Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to tell you right from the start whether you have winning case or not. Investigations need to be made with the other side to see if they have done all that they can to prevent anyone from slipping and injuring themselves. You can’t expect all areas of a supermarket to be under 24 hour supervision to ensure no spillages become a hazard; but you can regularly inspect and maintain the place.
So, it all comes down to whether the person or company responsible for your health and safety can prove that they have done all they can to reduce the risk of slipping as much as possible. If they can’t, or if they don’t have a good system of inspection and maintenance in place, you may well have a successful claim for compensation.
Recovering from Your Injuries
Slipping over can cause some very nasty injuries. It’s likely you were walking on a solid hard floor for it to be slippery enough in the first place. Landing hard on a solid ground can easily lead to broken bones or nasty impact injuries. The motion of a slip itself can leave you with muscular sprains, tendon damage, ligament damage, or even whiplash. Physiotherapy is often vital to help you recover at the earliest opportunity. If you make a claim for compensation with a specialist personal injury lawyer, you may be able to access private medical care right from the start of your case. So, it’s defiantly with speaking to a lawyer about!
In any event, the best way to find out if you have a potentially successful claim for compensation is to speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can for the advice and representation you need to make a claim.
