How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Pub Or Bar Accident?
By Daniel Charles. Last Updated 28th July 2021. Welcome to our guide to pub accident claims and bar accident claims. The catering and hospitality industry is not only one of the biggest employers in the UK, it’s also one of the most visited by guests, patrons, and customers. In the first 4 weeks of the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme in 2020, 64 million meals were claimed for. With so many people involved in the industry, it is not uncommon for accidents to take place.
Of these accidents, many trips and slips annually occur in the catering and hospitality industry. One of the main causes of slips in kitchens is food spillage, and most slips are likely to happen on wet or dirty floors. In cases where an employer or occupier may have acted in a negligent manner, you may have a viable claim for compensation.
Making a pub or bar injury claim might seem difficult. This guide is designed to provide you with an introduction to the process, providing the necessary advice to those who might have been affected by an accident in a pub or bar. See the Health and Safety Guidelines for the Catering Industry for more detailed information.
Or you can contact our personal injury claims team on 0800 073 8804, or by using our live chat feature, in the bottom right. Alternatively, you can see if you have a claim online by filling out the form on our website.
Select a section:
- A guide to pub or bar accident claims.
- What is a pub or bar accident?
- Pub or bar accidents caused by drink spillages and broken glass on the floor.
- Pub or bar accidents caused by poor maintenance.
- Other common accidents that feature in pub or bar accident claims.
- Claiming for pub or bar accidents while at work.
- Claiming for pub or bar accidents caused by negligence.
- Assessing the severity of pub or bar accidents.
- The long-term effect of pub or bar accidents.
- What to do if you have suffered a pub or bar accident.
- What can be claimed for after a pub or bar accident.
- No win no fee pub or bar accident claims.
- How much can I claim for pub or bar accident (Updated March 2021)
- How to start pub or bar accident claims.
- Why choose us as your claims service for a pub or bar accident.
- Call for free advice and to start a claim.
- Pub Accident Claims and Bar Accident Claims FAQs
A Guide to Pub or Bar Accident Claims
Bar and Pub Personal Injury
This guide will discuss pub accident claims or bar accident claims and the ways in which they can affect your life. For those considering a claim, it can provide a useful starting point. When you are thinking about any form of pub or bar injury claim, knowing the most common forms of accidents, how the law deals with negligence, and how to initiate a claim can be invaluable.
We will also discuss many of the difficulties of making a pub or bar accident claim. This includes advice on how to find a law firm and the benefits this brings. For anyone who has been injured following an accident in a pub or bar, this guide should prove to be very useful. We’ll also be defining the difference between making a personal injury claim and a criminal injury claim for those who are injured in an accident that takes place on the premises of a pub or bar.
What is a Pub or Bar Accident?
There are tens of thousands of hospitality venues across the UK. Some are licensed and some are not. If they are licensed, this means they are legally permitted to sell alcohol. Whilst some venues like cafés can carry licenses, it’s more common for this to be the case for a pub, bar or nightclub.
Whilst an accident in a pub or bar can be caused by the injured person being intoxicated, the owner of the establishment still has a duty of care to its customers. This duty is stated in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. It basically points out that those responsible for a public space such as a pub, car or nightclub but make sure it is as safe as possible. If an accident occurs that could have been avoided had the occupier had been more aware of hazards, then it’s possible a personal injury claim could be made.
If you’ve been injured due to an act of violence in a pub or a bar, your claim is likely to be made through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). A criminal injury claim is not necessarily the fault of the venue where the altercation takes place. Therefore, they’re not liable to pay the compensation to the injured party. The payment would be awarded through the CICA instead.
The graph below shows just the amount of licensed venues around the UK, as of March 2019. Whilst it doesn’t show the number of accidents that occurred in them, it serves as a visual demonstration of the number of pubs, bars, and restaurants where an accident caused by negligence could take place.
Pub or Bar Accidents Caused By Drink Spillages and Broken Glass on the Floor
One of the most common causes of a pub or bar accident (for both patrons and employees) is a floor that has spilt drinks or broken glass on it. With many pubs and bars serving alcohol, a large number of staff and patrons, and separate containers for every drink, spillages and breakages can be impossible to prevent.
When a spillage or breakage occurs, it can make the floor more hazardous. This makes slips, trips, and falls injuries more likely. With low lighting, large crowd numbers, and alcohol-affected senses, these hazards can become exacerbated. Should you slip and injure yourself, for example, a bar injury claim might be a legitimate course of action. In making such a claim, you may need to demonstrate that the bar or pub failed to provide adequate warning of the slippery floors, failed to clean the floors in a reasonable time, or acted negligently in some other manner. If this is the case, then they may have to pay you compensation.
Read on for more information on pub accident claims and bar accident claims caused by negligence, or contact us today for free legal advice relating to your accident.
Pub or Bar Accidents Caused by Poor Maintenance
Pub or bar accidents can also be caused by poor maintenance. This could include uneven flooring, furniture which may collapse, loose carpets, or any other part of the venue which might pose a danger due to failed maintenance.
It is the responsibility of the pub or the bar to ensure that the facilities are safe.
As mentioned earlier, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 requires the operator of a pub or a bar to provide a safe environment for both employees and visitors. The occupier (in this case, it might be the owner/operator of the pub or bar or the landlord of the venue) has a duty of care that is extended to visitors to the property, providing protection from accidents resulting from the defective or dangerous conditions of the property. For example, this could include beer gardens, car parks, and other exterior parts of the building.
If the landlord fails in their duty to provide a safe, risk-free environment to a reasonable degree, they may be liable for pub or bar accident claims in the event of an accident or injury.
Other Common Accidents that Feature in Pub or Bar Accident Claims
There are a number of accidents that frequently occur in pubs and bars. These include:
- Accidents due to cluttered stairways.
- Incidents as a result of unsafe furniture.
- Accidents due to poorly prepared food or drink.
Depending on the exact nature of your accident or injury, it may not conform to any of the issues outlined above. However, that does not mean that you will not win your compensation claim. Contact a solicitor and discuss pub accident claims and bar accident claims for more information.
Claiming for Pub or Bar Accidents while at Work
Employees of a pub or bar are among those most at risk of accidents and injuries. According to information released by the Health and Safety Executive, some of the most common injuries for employees in the catering and hospitality industry include:
- Food spillages
- Water overflow or leaks
- Floor in poor condition
- Trip hazards
- Cleaning products applied to floors
- Carrying hot oil
As the graph below shows using accident data from HSE for 2019/20, the most common kind of accident that occurs in the industry group which includes bars and pubs is slips, trips and falls on the same level. Many of the hazards listed above could result in an accident of this kind.
pub accident claims and bar accident claims
Pub accident claims
Any of the above issues can result in serious injury. An employer has a duty to its employees to ensure that they are protected from hazardous situations to a reasonable degree.
If you have suffered any of the above injuries (or others) and believe that this could have been prevented by adhering to health and safety guidelines, providing protective clothing, or providing training, you may have a claim for compensation. If this is the case, we recommend you contact a legal professional to discover more. See the Health and Safety regulations for the catering market for more detailed information, or get in touch with us today to discuss pub accident claims and bar accident claims against your employer.
Claiming for Pub or Bar Accidents Caused by Negligence
Negligence is an important subject even for victims who are not employees in a pub or bar. If you have been injured in such a place as the result of a preventable accident, you made need to prove that the bar or pub operator acted in a negligent fashion.
The operator is required to ensure that all customers are safe and protected from risk (to a reasonable degree) while in the building or facility. This is not only true of the pub or bar itself, but also any car parks, corridors, entrances, and other property which fall under the operator’s responsibility.
As such, a compensation claim following a pub or bar accident will likely depend on you being able to prove that the operator acted in a negligent fashion. Though this might be difficult, we will discuss the steps you can take in a later section. You may also benefit from the legal guidance on pub accident claims and bar accident claims provided by a law firm.
Assessing the Severity of Pub or Bar Accidents
As part of any compensation claim, assessing the severity of the injury or the accident is vital. In the simplest possible terms: the more severe the injury, the higher the compensation settlement amount is likely to be. However, there are a number of factors that can complicate this.
It is important to think about the long-term implications of an injury. We will cover this in the next section, but more severe injuries often carry serious connotations for your future health. Added to this, any injury which might affect your ability to work or your quality of life might be considered more severe.
The severity of an injury can also be linked to the pain it causes. This is not just physical pain but also emotional and psychological pain. Often, it can help to keep a medical journal of the various ways in which the injury has affected your life. If you do claim compensation, this journal can be used as evidence as to the severity of the injury. If you are unsure of how the severity of an injury might affect your case, feel free to phone our team and discuss the matter.
The Long-Term Effect of Pub or Bar Accidents
When making any compensation claim, long-term effects and complications can influence the compensation payout amount. However, it is important to note that the long-term effect of these injuries does not just include the physical pain and suffering being experienced by the victim. It can recognise long-term psychological damage and other, more abstract issues.
It is important to get a correct diagnosis of your potential future health as it pertains to the injury. This is an issue of correctly diagnosing any long-term health issues. Following an accident, you may receive medical treatment. This might be from an emergency room doctor. It is possible that you do not receive a complete diagnosis for your injury. Future complications and issues might not be apparent in the hours immediately after you are hurt. This is why we arrange for our clients to visit a local doctor, who will provide a complete diagnosis of all current and future health implications caused by the injury.
For more information on what you should do in the lead up to making pub accident claims and bar accident claims, please read on.
What to do If You Have Suffered a Pub or Bar Accident
If you have suffered a pub or bar accident that caused you an injury, it is advisable to take action immediately. This means that if you are considering a compensation claim, you can begin the process of gathering evidence as soon as you have sought the correct medical help. If you have been injured, we suggest that you:
- Report the accident – you are expected to report the accident to a member of staff or management of the pub or bar. Ask that the incident is recorded in the accident book.
- Collect evidence – It is important to collect the details of the witnesses of the accident, take photographs of where the accident happened, and anything else that could help the case.
- Get a medical examination – as mentioned in a previous section, a follow-up medical exam can help diagnose future medical issues.
- Document all information – keep a record of anything that relates to the injury. For example, financial losses, medical expenses, and so on.
Taking the above steps can improve the standing of your claim before you even begin legal action.
What Can be Claimed for After a Pub or Bar Accident
The exact details of the final settlement amount will differ from case to case. However, there are a number of damages and expenses which you may wish to consider when filing a claim. These include:
- General damages – this generally refers to the pain and the suffering; the direct medical consequences of the injury.
- Medical expenses – these are more tangible medical expenses, such as the purchase of equipment or medicine.
- Special damages – these damages might refer to additional losses suffered by the accident, such as damage to jewellery or your car.
- Care claim – in the event that you have had to hire assistance in the form of a carer or nurse, you can potentially claim these expenses as part of the settlement amount.
Your solicitor can help you determine the exact damages and expenses as they pertain to your claim.
No Win No Fee Pub or Bar Accident Claims
Whether you are making a claim against a bar for assault or you are making a claim against a bar bouncer, one of the most difficult challenges following an injury or accident is gathering together the funds to launch a legal claim. If you are considering a bar, pub, or nightclub injury claim, we offer an alternative.
Our No Win No Fee agreement could be the best solution. Commonly known as the ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’ (or by its abbreviation, CFA), this approach can dramatically lower the financial risk of working with legal professionals. A No Win No Fee arrangement basically means that if your case is unsuccessful, you won’t be responsible for paying your lawyer’s legal fees. If you are awarded compensation, then your lawyer is paid via a legally-capped amount taken from your payout. It really is that simple.
Our next section will look at the amounts that can be claimed for pub accident claims and bar accident claims. Please read on if this is of interest to you.
How Much Can I Claim for Pub or Bar Accident
Trying to put an exact figure on a settlement amount in the very early stages of a claim can be difficult. Each case is unique and each settlement amount will be calculated in a different way. However, the table below can be used as an indication of the ways in which the severity of an injury and the type of injury can affect the final total.
These figures are taken from a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). These guidelines are made up of an extensive list of injuries and what they could be worth. The JCG is updated semi-regularly, with the last update taking place in 2019. This figure is known as general damages, and is awarded to the claimant to account for the physical pain and the mental suffering caused by their injuries.
| Injury | Severity | Amount | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toe Injury | Severe | £9,010 to £12,900 | Causes severe pains and could lead to temporary loss of the toe. |
| Toe Injury | Full Amputation | £34,270 to £52,620 | Total loss of toes with excruciating pain. |
| Toe Injury | Moderate | Up to £9,010 | Moderately serious but enough to cause serious pains. |
| Foot Injury | Very severe | £78,800 to £102,890 | May lead to amputation both feet as a result of accident. |
| Foot Injury | Severe | £39,390 to £65,710 | Deterioration of the foot or feet causing an ongoing issue, possibly with serious pains |
| Foot Injury | Serious | £23,460 to £36,790 | Major Loss of normal ability of the foot, ongoing pain, or may even require surgery to correct as a result of injury. |
| Foot Injury | Moderate | £12,900 to £23,460 | Short-term damage to foot, causing a temporary loss of function or pain as result of injury. |
| Foot Injury | Minor | Up to £12,900 | A small injury to the foot and temporary pain as result of injury. |
| Leg Injury | Moderate | £26,050 to £36,790 | Injury may be limited in its severity but there are serious pains as result of injury. |
| Leg Injury | Serious | £36,790 to £51,460 | Breaks or fractures of the leg that will take some time to heal. |
| Finger Injury | Severe fracture | Up to £34,480 | Loss of function in one of the fingers as a result of injury. |
| Finger Injury | Partial/Loss of index finger | £11,420 to £17,590 | May be an amputation of one or more of the fingers as result of injury. |
| Finger Injury | Fracture of index finger | £8,550 to £11,480 | A little fracture but big enough to cause pain after heavy use. |
There’s also the matter of special damages. This figure is made up of additional costs that have accrued as a direct result of the claimant’s injuries. For example, loss of earnings, medical expenses and travel costs are just some of the things that can be considered eligible for reimbursement. It’s very important you keep detailed records of these expenditures. If you don’t, you could find it very difficult to be reimbursed.
For more information regarding what else can be reclaimed via special damages, get in touch with our advisors today.
How to Start Pub or Bar Accident Claims
If you are involved in a pub or bar accident, speaking to legal experts should be one of your first actions. If you are interested in a pub injury claim or a bar injury claim, expert assistance can help you through the complex web of regulations and bureaucracy that exists. For example, clients who decide to work with our team might follow this process:
- Call our offices and arrange for a free legal consultation. In this session, we’ll go over every aspect of your case and help you decide whether you have a viable claim for compensation.
- If you decide to continue to work with us following this session, we can then begin the process of launching legal action on your behalf.
- This can include a further fact-finding process, attempting to obtain evidence such as CCTV that you might not have been able to access.
- If a medical examination is needed, we can arrange a local medical appointment on your behalf.
- We can begin to file the correct paperwork and file the claim in the correct manner.
Rather than sitting at home wondering how to sue a bar for negligence, we believe that professional legal assistance can make the process much easier and much quicker. So if you’d like to know more about pub accident claims and bar accident claims, get in touch with us today for free legal advice.
Why Choose Us as Your Claims Service for a Pub or Bar Accident
Claiming compensation is not easy. This is especially true when you have suffered an injury as the result of an accident. Rather than spending time recovering, you may be fretting about how to deal with the matter. This is where we come in.
We offer a simple, stress-free approach to claiming compensation. Rather than trying to handle everything yourself, you can trust our team to work with you to make the process as easy as possible. We’re experienced, friendly, and proud of our ethics and integrity. We can offer a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement and we’ll work hard to ensure you get the maximum amount of compensation.
We’ve got the capacity, knowledge, and professionalism needed to handle your compensation claim. To find out more about how we’re able to help, you only need to get in touch.
Call for Free Advice and to Start a Claim
If you’ve been involved in any form of accident in a pub, a bar, a nightclub, or a restaurant, we’re able to help you claim compensation. With a customer-friendly approach and years of experience, the entire process is so much simpler with our professional help. To discover more, you can fill out a contact form online, use our website’s chat feature, or call 0800 073 8804. We’ll arrange a free consultation session and start your compensation claim in the right way. Remember, the two alternatives are to use the live chat function in the bottom right, or see if you have a claim online by filling out the form on our website.
Helpful Links
Slipping on a Wet floor Compensation Claims
Have you had a slip on a wet floor due to a cleaner or a spilt drink? find out if you can claim compensation today.
How Much Compensation Will I Get For Assault?
Find out how much compensation you could claim for an assault compensation claim.
How Much Compensation Can I Claim for an Accident in a Restaurant?
Looking into making a claim after you sustained an injury in a restaurant? Read our guide on what steps you could take.
How To Obtain CCTV Footage Of Yourself
If the accident that caused your injuries was captured on CCTV, you have a legal right to request the footage.
Information on the process of appointing an adult to pursue someone else’s claim on their behalf.
Broken Bone Advice From The NHS
How to tell if you’ve broken a bone, and how they should be initially treated.
Allergic Reaction After Eating At A Cafe – What To Do
Our guide on this subject.
Get help claiming injury compensation after sustaining an injury while drunk with our helpful article.
Pub Accident Claims and Bar Accident Claims FAQs
How do I sue a bar for negligence?
If you suffered an injury at a bar because of their negligence, you could make a personal injury claim. Get in touch with our team for free legal advice with no obligation to use our service.
Can you sue a bar for falling?
If you fell at a bar because of your own actions, you might not be able to make a claim. But, if the bar’s negligence led you to fall and endure an injury, you could make a claim.
What can you claim for in a personal injury claim?
If a third party caused your injuries, you could claim for physical, psychological and financial damage.
What are the two types of damages in injury claims?
Personal injury claims will be split into general and special damages. General damages cover the impact that the injury has had on your life. Special damages cover any expenses, like travel or medical treatment, that you may have incurred because of your injuries.
How do I get the most money from my personal injury claim?
To ensure that you get the full amount of personal injury compensation that you deserve, you should keep as much evidence as possible around the circumstances of the accident. You should also keep a record of any financial losses you’ve experienced.
What is a good settlement offer?
It’s hard to say what an appropriate payment would be for your accident without knowing more about your claim. The amount you receive will depend on how your injuries have affected your quality of life.
How long after an accident can you put in a claim?
The time limit for a personal injury claim to be made is three years after the date that the accident took place.
Can I claim for personal injury if the accident was my fault?
Usually, no. You may be able to make a contributory negligence claim if you were partly to blame, but the bar or pub played a part in your injuries. In these cases, your compensation award would affect this.
Thank you for reading our guide to pub accident claims and bar accident claims.
