Generally speaking, claims for personal injury compensation for slipping on a wet floor can be inherently difficult to win. The reason for this is that the law, which is normally The Occupiers Liability Act for when you visit a public place like a shop, doesn’t make it easy to win a case.
But that being said, it all depends on what has happened in your individual case, and you may be able to stand a much better chance if the floor was wet from mop water.
Why can a claim be hard to win?
The Occupiers Liability Act means that a place like a shop needs to take all reasonable steps to prevent an accident on their premises. Floors can easily become wet – a customer could spill or drop something, and this can result in a hazard.
Most places have systems of inspection and maintenance to look out for, and clear, hazards as soon as they can. If a hazard is reported, they should clear it right away.
How are mopped floor claims different?
Mopped floor claims are different because the mop water is usually put down by an employee of the business. As such, it is accepted that the occupier of the premises is immediately aware of the hazard. After all, they’re creating it.
Floors of course need to be mopped – especially when there is a spillage. So people need to be warned of the hazard, which is where a wet floor sign or a cordon may come in to place. Either can be seen as a reasonable step when it comes to the law to prevent a hazard.
So when can I win a claim?
If there are no wet floor signs or cordons and you slip on mop water on the floor, you may be in a strong position to win a claim for personal injury compensation. We have seen cases where people have tried to use excuses like they were about to get a sign and had yet to erect it; but that isn’t good enough.
If there is no warning of the hazard, we would take this as a breach of the law and we’ll probably be able to offer you a no win, no fee agreement for a claim.
What should I do?
Contact us as soon as you can on 0800 634 75 75 because we need to act quickly for a claim. Just because there wasn’t a wet floor sign down when you slipped doesn’t mean that there wasn’t one there on record. I’m not suggesting that anyone would lie, but we have seen examples in the past where circumstances have been disputed. The duty to prove your claim is always on you.
Acting quickly could save your claim – we may need to contact witnesses where we can and look to secure vital CCTV footage that could be the make or break of your case. Most places have CCTV and most places get rid of it after a few short weeks, so time really is of the essence!
Call us now on 0800 634 75 75 for advice.
