How Much Can I Claim For Slipping On A Wet Floor?
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 5th April 2024. If you slipped on a wet floor and suffered an injury or illness as a result, you could be entitled to claim compensation if the accident was caused by another party’s negligence. We’ll explain what your rights are in this situation and how we could successfully guide you through the claims process.
Accidents involving a slip on a wet floor can happen due to severe weather, spillages or other factors in public places such as a restaurant or a supermarket.
They can also happen in work environments. Within this guide, we’ll explain the circumstances that may allow you to claim for injuries if you slipped on a wet floor. We’ll also discuss the process of claiming and potential compensation amounts.
For free legal advice on claiming after you slipped on a wet floor, you can contact Legal Expert for help today. Our advisors are available to speak to on the floor or online. You can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804.
- Enquire online
- Or, why not use our live chat to access free legal advice instantly?
If you’d like to learn about the key points from this guide, why not check out our video below:
Select a Section
- Can I Claim For Slipping On A Wet Floor?
- Evidence To Support Claim If You’ve Slipped On The Floor And Been Injured
- Compensation For Injuries After Slipping On A Wet Floor
- Examples Of Slipping Over On Wet Floors
- I Slipped On A Wet Floor – Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
- Contact Us For Injury Claim Advice After Slipping On A Wet Floor
Can I Claim For Slipping On A Wet Floor?
There are certain circumstances when you might be eligible to claim compensation if you slipped on a wet floor and sustained an injury. While you are working, your employer owes you a duty of care to take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure your health, safety and welfare. This is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA).
If you would like to claim compensation because you suffered injuries slipping on a wet floor at work, you will need to satisfy the personal injury claims eligibility criteria. This means that in order to have good grounds to claim, you must be able to prove that:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty.
- You suffered an injury as a result. This could be a mental or physical injury, or both.
If you would like to further discuss the eligibility criteria, please contact a member of our advisory team.
Evidence To Support Claim If You’ve Slipped On The Floor And Been Injured
If you have slipped on a wet floor and wish to make an accident at work claim, you will need to provide evidence that highlights your employer’s negligence as well as the injuries you suffered as a result.
As such, you may consider gathering evidence including:
- Medical evidence – your solicitor could request a copy of your medical records as part of the claim. It may be useful to collect any letters from the hospital or GP surgery that treated you too. Medical evidence can highlight your injuries and indicate what caused them.
- Photographic evidence – make sure to photograph any visible injuries as well as the scene of the accident and any hazards that caused your accident. Furthermore, if your workplace has CCTV, request the footage. This will be helpful in showing exactly what happened and whether employer negligence was the cause.
- Evidence from witnesses – if your colleagues or anyone else witnessed your accident, ask them for their contact details. That way your solicitor can get in touch for a written statement confirming your version of events.
- A report in an accident book – all workplaces with more than 10 employees should have an accident book under law. When you record the slipping accident, make sure to explain exactly what happened. You could ask a colleague to do this for you if you are unable to do so at the time, but always make sure you check what’s been written before signing it off.
It’s worth noting that if you have slipped on the floor at work, our solicitors could arrange an assessment with an independent medical expert. They’ll assess your injuries to determine the extent of the harm you experienced and if they were caused as a result of your employer acting negligently. Get in touch for more information.
Slipped On A Wet Floor – How Long Do I Have To Claim?
If a wet floor causes you to slip, compensation could be owed to you if you sustain an injury as a result and could prove it was due to negligence. However, you are required to make you claim within a certain time period – 3 years. This time limit can be found in the Limitation Act 1980.
There can be exceptions to this time limit in some cases. If the injured party is a child, then the 3-year time limit doesn’t start until the day they turn 18 – when they are old enough to start a claim on their own behalf. A representative (usually someone close to the child, like a family member) could potentially claim on the injured party’s behalf before they turn 18 if they can be appointed as a litigation friend.
The time limit for claiming is suspended if the injured party lacks the mental capacity to make decisions independently. In such cases, a representative may be able to start a claim on the injured party’s behalf as a litigation friend.
Compensation For Injuries After Slipping On A Wet Floor
If you suffered injuries when you slipped and fell down on the floor, your settlement might include both general damages and special damages. In this section, we are going to look at how general damages will be assigned value.
After making a successful claim for slipping on water, you would receive general damages to compensate for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries. To help assign value to your injuries, legal professionals use a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). It provides guidance in the form of compensation brackets for different injuries.
In our table below we’ve included injuries you might suffer if you slipped on a wet floor from the JCG. It should be noted that the top row is not from the JCG. We’ve only provided the attached figures to help you understand how this element of your claim will be valued.
| Type of Injury | Comments | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries and Special Damages | Your settlement can compensate for more than one very serve injury and incurred costs, including home help and lost wages. | Up to £250,000+ |
| Back Injury - Severe (i) | Severe damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots that lead to serious consequences, such as incomplete paralysis. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back Injury - Minor (i) | A soft tissue injury, sprain or strain that fully recovers within 2-5 years without needing surgery. | £7,890 to £12,510 |
| Leg Injury - Severe (i) The Most Serious | A severe leg injury that has fallen short of requiring amputation, such as the gross shortening of the leg. | £96,250 to £135,920 |
| Leg Injury - Severe (iv) Moderate | A severe crush injury or multiple fractures in one leg. How much that is awarded will be affected by various factors, such as the extent of treatment undertaken. | £27,760 to £39,200 |
| Leg Injury - Less Serious (i) | A fracture that has made an incomplete recovery, or a serious soft tissue injury. | £17,960 to £27,760 |
| Arm Injury - Severe | A severe arm injury that doesn't require amputation. However, the injured person is little better off. | £96,160 to £130,930 |
| Arm Injury - (d) | A simple forearm fracture. | £6,610 to £19,200 |
| Ankle Injury - Moderate | Ligamentous tears or fractures that cause mobility difficulty, such as on uneven ground and stairs. | £13,740 to £26,590 |
| Foot Injury - Moderate | Displaced metatarsal fractures that result in continuing symptoms and a permanent deformity. | £13,740 to £24,990 |
If you would like a free claim evaluation or any assistance using our compensation calculator, call our advisors.
Can You Claim Special Damages If You Slipped On The Floor?
Some successful claims may also recover special damages to reimburse you for any expenses incurred as a result of the injuries you suffered when you slipped on the floor.
Costs you could recover in a successful accident at work claim include:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical expenses.
- Home help, such as a cleaner while you recover.
- Transport costs.
In order to recover your expenses, you should save proof of your costs and submit them as part of the personal injury claims process. For example, you could save your receipts and payslips.
As part of valuing your potential claim, one of the advisors from our team can advise on what costs you could recover under special damages.
Examples Of Slipping Over On Wet Floors
To help you better understand when an injury caused by slipping over could be an example of negligence, we have included some illustrative scenarios in the list below. However, there are other instances that could be described as negligence.
- Wet floors – Slip hazards such as these could be present in a variety of places. For example, a supermarket floor could be wet due to spillages or cleaning. If it is not clearly signposted or promptly cleaned up, then customers or employees could slip and injure themselves.
- Unsafe stairs – For instance, there could be damage to or liquid on the stairs that makes them slippery or uneven. Alternatively, there could also be debris that causes a risk to employees or members of the public. There are a number of ways to reduce the risk of falls on stairs.
- Inclement weather – Some entrances or lobbies for buildings can have doors that lead directly outside. If it is raining outside and water enters the building, this could lead to the floor in the lobby becoming a slip hazard. The occupier of the building needs to take measures to reduce this risk of slipping.
If you’d like to find out more about whether your injury was caused by negligence, reach out to our advisors today. We are ready and waiting to help you.
Injuries Caused by Wet Floor Accidents
If these steps aren’t taken by your employer to ensure your safety and you have a wet floor accident at work as a result, you could suffer a range of injuries, such as:
- Minor injuries, such as bruises or soft tissue damage
- Cuts and grazes
- Muscle strains or tears
- Ankle injury
- Back injury
- Shoulder injury
- Neck injury
- Broken bones
- Head trauma
- Psychological injury
- Knee injuries – check out our guide on “how much should I settle for a knee injury?“
I Slipped On A Wet Floor – Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
You could seek support from a solicitor if you have strong grounds to make a personal injury claim after you slipped on a wet floor. If you get in touch with our team of advisors today to discuss your case, they may connect you with one of our solicitors.
One of our solicitors may offer to help with your personal injury claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee agreement. If you start a slip on the floor injury claim under such an arrangement, you won’t have to pay upfront or ongoing fees for your solicitor’s services. You also won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work if your claim proves unsuccessful.
If your claim is a success, then the No Win No Fee solicitor who supported your claim will be able to take a legally capped percentage from the compensation awarded to you. This is referred to as a success fee.
For more advice on making a personal injury claim after you slipped on the floor with a No Win No Fee solicitor, please get in touch with our advisors. To reach them, you can:
- Phone us on 0800 073 8804
- Write to us using our online contact form
- Message us through our 24/7 live chat service
Useful Links
Within this section, you will find some additional resources related to wet floor accident claims. As always, should you have any additional questions if you slipped on the floor due to negligence, please feel free to contact our team.
Want to read another one of our trusty and detailed guides? Please click the link.
Office Accident Claims
Our guide on claiming for an accident that occurred in an office, such as wet floor slip and fall accidents.
NHS Head Injury and Concussion
After a slip or fall, you may suffer a head injury. Please click the link to access relevant advise and to learn how the NHS advise you treat a head injury.
Mental Health Services NHS
Unfortunately, you may suffer psychologically after an accident that wasn’t your fault. If that is the case, then please click the link provided to access NHS Mental Health resources. Support is always available.
Other guides you may find useful:
- I cut myself on barbed wire, can I claim compensation?
- Hairdresser injury claims guide
- I Slipped On Ice – Can I Claim Compensation?
- Hairdresser Burnt Scalp Injury from Bleach or Hair Dye
- Train Station Accident Claim
- Aldershot Personal Injury Solicitors
- Foot Injury Compensation Payouts In The UK
- Read this guide on bathroom slip injuries
- Read this guide to learn about claiming compensation for a broken hip
- Find out how to claim for a slip or trip caused by someone mopping the floor with our helpful guide.
Thanks for reading our guide on wet floor accident claims. To learn more about claiming after falling on a slippery floor, please contact our team for free legal advice using the above details.
