HSE says “Slips, trips, and falls” are the most common injuries at work

According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics, slips, trips and falls are the most common injuries at work, accounting for over a third of all major work injuries.

Slip incidents are also one of the most common types of accidents giving rise to a claim for personal injury. The question of compensation depends on whether the third party was negligent in preventing the slip.

Types of accident claims

There are different types of slip accident claims depending on where your slip accident occurred, some examples include:

Depending on where your accident occurred depends on the burden of proof.

If you slipped at work, your claim would normally be against your employers because employers owe their employees a duty of care, taking all steps to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing. An employer’s duty of care is fairly broad. In relation to personal injury their duty of care includes; undertaking risk assessments, provide a safe work environment, and provide adequate training where necessary.

If you slipped/tripped at a supermarket, your claim would normally be against the supermarket. As a supermarket, they owe their customers/anyone who shops there the duty of care to keep them from harm under the Occupiers Liability Act. This would include moving any trip or slip hazards, like empty cardboard boxes, leftover stock, or spillages. If a spillage has occurred, they have the duty of care to clean the mess as soon as possible and place wet floor signs if the floor is still wet as soon as is reasonable. Wet floor signs are helpful for third parties to escape liability as they will argue that there was sufficient warning.

If you trip and fall as a result of a pothole or uneven pavements, your claim would normally be against the local council as they usually have the duty of care to maintain public areas.

Test of reasonableness

Your claim will usually depend on whether it is reasonable to hold the third party liable. The following questions may be asked:

• How long was the danger / defect present before your accident and whether the third party was knowledgeable of the defect? For example, was the spillage left in the supermarket for a long period of time and was an employee aware of it? If the answer is yes to both, it may be reasonable to conclude that an accident would occur due to the failure to clean up the mess.
• If you slip or trip as a result of something on the floor, was there a legitimate reason for the object being on the floor? If there is no good reason for the object to be left on the floor, it may be reasonable to conclude that an accident would occur if the object was left there.
• If you slip or trip as a result of something on the floor that once had a legitimate reason for being there, did the reason still exist at the time of the accident? For example, if a cleaning machine’s wire had been left on the floor a week after a clean, it would be reasonable to conclude that it should’ve been tidied away to prevent an accident from occurring.

Gathering evidence

If you sustained injuries from a slip, trip or fall, you may be entitled to claim compensation. With all personal injury claims it is advisable to take photographs after the incident (if possible) with notes detailing your injury. It is crucial that you gather information from the third party, for example, if you slipped in a supermarket make sure you request CCTV, this will help us build a strong case against the negligent third party.