Many people have the idea that they are automatically entitled to compensation if they are injured through no fault of their own. The old adage “where there’s a blame there’s a claim” can sometimes ring true, but it doesn’t mean you will automatically be entitled to claim compensation if you do have an accident that was not your fault.
But there is a lot you can do to give yourself the best chance of winning in these kinds of scenarios – so read on for more info.
How do I win a claim?
We must prove negligence. We must show that the Defendant, i.e. the person / company responsible for the place where you slipped, has failed in the duty of care they have for you. We must show that they have breached the law, which for most cases in a public setting is The Occupiers Liability Act.
So why is it so hard?
Because the duty they have is to take reasonable steps to prevent someone being injured on the premises. As such, if the Defendant, which could be a supermarket or a restaurant for example, can show that they have taken reasonable steps they can defend the claim.
A reasonable step could be having a system of inspection and cleaning in place where dedicated staff will inspect areas of the floor at regular intervals to check for slipping hazards so they can rectify them. Another one could be training staff in general to look out for such hazards, often referred to as ‘clean as you go’ policies.
So what does this mean?
To give you an example, this could mean that if you slip on a floor that is wet in a supermarket and the supermarket can prove that they have a reasonable system of inspection which indicates that the hazard you slipped on was not there at the last inspection, they can very easily defend the claim.
To put it in to context – If you slip at 3:15pm on an aisle that is inspected every half an hour, and the last inspection was 3:20pm, it means that it is likely that the spillage occurred sometime in the 15 minutes leading up to your accident. If it’s a half hourly inspection, the next one isn’t due unto 3:45pm meaning you slipped in-between inspection periods.
As such, the Defendant (usually through their insurers who deal with claims) will probably defend the claim stating that they have a reasonable system of inspection and cleaning, and that it was adhered to, meaning there was nothing more they could have done by law. You can’t expect them to be able to watch every aisle at every point through the day, and it only takes a careless customer to spill something and create a hazard.
So how do I give myself the best chance of winning?
Many places now take reasonable steps to stop people making claims, so you need to instruct a firm like us who specialise and only represent victims for compensation claims. This means that we have extensive experience in fighting these common defences and finding ways of getting round them.
It is all circumstantial so we do need to look at other things as well. One thing you should always do is make a claim as soon as you can because vital CCTV evidence could prove your claim. Normally they get rid of such evidence after a few weeks, irrelevant of whether you reported the accident or not. So get in touch on 0800 634 75 75 for help and advice immediately.
