If you have had a pavement accident in public, you may be wondering, ‘Can I claim if I fall in the street?’ By reading our guide, you can find out what duty of care a third party owes to you to prevent accidents in the street and whether you are eligible to claim compensation for your injuries. We also discuss how a fall accident might happen due to a breached duty of care.
Then, we tell you what pieces of evidence you could collect to prove a public liability claim and how compensation for a fall injury is calculated.
To end our guide, we explain what No Win No Fee agreements are and how a specialist personal injury solicitor can help you if you are eligible to make a pavement accident claim.
Our team can confirm whether you are eligible to claim compensation. By contacting our advisors, you can discuss your case free of charge and possibly be connected with one of our expert solicitors.
To reach out, you can:
- Call 0800 073 8804.
- Fill out our online ‘contact us’ form.
- Message in our live support chat.
Jump To A Section
- Can I Claim If I Fall In The Street?
- Causes Of Falling In The Street
- How To Prove Public Accident Claims
- What Compensation Can I Claim If I Fall In The Street?
- How Long Do Fall In The Street Claims Take To Complete?
- Start Your No Win No Fee Claim For A Fall In The Street
- Get Further Advice On Public Accident Claims
Can I Claim If I Fall In The Street?
You may be able to make a public liability claim after falling in the street if you can prove:
- Another party owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You were injured due to this breach.
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 establishes a duty of care for all occupiers (those who have control of a public space). To adhere to this duty, occupiers must take practical steps to ensure the public is reasonably safe while on their premises. Such steps include removing hazards or using signs to alert people to potential dangers.
Local councils and authorities often control local highways, such as streets, roads, and pavements. However, other parties may also be liable if a fall accident happens in the street.
To discuss the question, ‘Can I claim if I fall in the street?’ and find out whether your case meets the above criteria, get in touch on the number listed in this article.
Time Limits On Public Accident Claims
The Limitation Act 1980 states that the general time limit to start a personal injury claim is 3 years, generally commencing from the day the accident happened.
However, if the claimant is younger than 18 years old or is mentally incapacitated, then the time limit is paused as neither can claim on their own. While there is a pause, the courts can assign a litigation friend to start legal proceedings for the claimant.
Otherwise, the time limit for children will begin on their 18th birthday. In cases where the claimant is mentally incapacitated, the standard 3 years will start to run down from the date that capacity is regained.
If you contact us, our team can provide more information about whether your potential pavement accident claim is within the limitation period.
Causes Of Falling In The Street
Here are some possible causes of falling in the street due to a third party breaching their duty of care:
- An accident could be caused by poor or inadequate lighting caused by broken street lights that have been reported but not repaired in a timely manner. This could result in a member of the public losing their footing and sustaining a broken ankle from a fall.
- There could be a failure by construction workers doing maintenance checks on the water pipes to put a drain cover back on after work is completed. As a consequence, a member of the public falls and sustains a broken leg and head injury.
- A pavement accident can occur if loose slabs on a busy high street are reported to the local council but no steps are taken to fix the hazard or cordon it off. This could cause someone to sustain a wrist or neck injury.
A slip, trip and fall accident may not always be grounds to start a personal injury claim. If you’re unsure whether you could claim for a fall injury, please get in touch using the number listed above. They are here to help and can tailor their advice to the specifics of your case.
How To Prove Public Accident Claims
Having proof that a third party breached their duty of care and how you were injured from this is essential in pavement accident claims. Some examples of useful types of evidence you could gather include:
- CCTV footage of the accident taking place.
- Photographs of the cause of the accident and your visible injuries. You may need a ruler or measuring tape to show the depth or elevation of a pavement slab.
- A record of your symptoms and medical treatment in a diary.
- Copies of your medical notes, records, and any scan images that provide details on your injuries.
- Contact information of anyone who might have seen the accident. These can be used by a solicitor to collect witness statements later on in the process.
If you have an eligible public liability claim and would like help collecting as much evidence as you can, one of our solicitors could assist. They have experience handling claims for falls in the street and can ensure your case is brought forward within the correct time frame.
To find out more about the services they can offer and whether you’re eligible to instruct them to represent you, call our team on the number listed above. They can assess your case and answer the question ‘Can I claim if I fall in the street?’ and may connect you with an expert solicitor if you have valid grounds to pursue compensation.
What Compensation Can I Claim If I Fall In The Street?
You might be wondering what compensation you can claim for after a fall in the street. If your public liability claim is successful, your personal injury compensation payout may be divided into 2 heads of claim. These heads are known as general and special damages.
All successful claims are awarded general damages. General damages are compensation for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to your physical and/or psychological injuries. As such, some of the factors that will be taken into consideration when calculating the value of this head are:
- How severe the pain and your injury is.
- Whether your quality of life has changed.
- How long the recovery period will be.
- The treatment required.
A medical report produced from an independent medical assessment can be used when valuing general damages. The report can be used by your solicitor alongside the Judicial College Guidelines, a publication that lists suggestive compensation brackets for different types of injuries.
Injuries Table
We have included some of the JCG’s brackets in our table below (though the first row doesn’t come from the document). Please keep in mind that these brackets are not a guarantee for how much compensation you might receive.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline compensation values |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries with Special Damages, Such as Private Medical Expenses | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 | |
| Severe Leg Injuries | Severe (ii) Very Serious | £66,920 to £109,290 |
| Severe (iii) Serious | £47,840 to £66,920 | |
| Knee | Severe (iii) | £31,960 to £53,030 |
| Moderate (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 | |
| Arm | Less Severe Injury | £23,430 to £47,810 |
| Wrist | Less Severe (c) | £15,370 to £29,900 |
Special Damages In Public Accident Claims
Only some successful claims are awarded special damages. Special damages are compensation for the past and future expenses you have incurred due to your injuries. For example:
- If you have lost earnings after taking time off work.
- The travel costs of attending medical appointments.
- Medical bills, such as requiring private healthcare or paying for prescriptions.
- Adaptations to your home or vehicle to accommodate a disability or other condition.
- Specialist equipment like wheelchairs or electric scooters.
Any expense claimed for under special damages needs proof. So, be sure to keep evidence like receipts, payslips, bank statements, and invoices.
You can learn more about special damages and other aspects of the pavement accident compensation claims process by having a chat with our team.
How Long Do Fall In The Street Claims Take To Complete?
All fall in the street claims vary in terms of how long it takes to complete. That is because each compensation claim is unique by nature. See below for some of the factors that may impact the length of time it takes for a fall in the street compensation claim to settle:
- Whether liability is in dispute: The defendant may not accept that the accident was their fault; in which case, there may be more communication back and forth.
- Whether you are required to take the claim to court: However, this is rare as most cases settle out of court.
- The available evidence: Some kinds of proof may be more difficult or time-consuming to obtain.
- The severity of your injuries: If you still need treatment, that may mean it takes longer to fully assess your condition and give a long-term prognosis.
If you are unable to wait for a settlement due to financial difficulties, you may be eligible to receive an interim payment. Essentially, this is an advance payment that some claimants receive before the settlement of the case.
You can speak with an advisor at any time to learn more about interim payments and how our solicitors help our clients to apply for them. They can also answer more general questions, such as ‘Can I claim if I fall in the street?’
Start Your No Win No Fee Claim For A Fall In The Street
Our expert personal injury solicitors could help you with your claim. They can use their vast experience to help you with your case by:
- Collecting the evidence that can help you win your claim.
- Arranging an independent medical appointment on your behalf.
- Handling all legal paperwork and forms for you.
- Pushing for the best compensation result for you that they can.
- Processing your claim in an efficient and timely manner.
If your fall in the street claim is eligible, you may be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee contact. Under such an agreement, you don’t have to pay immediate or extra solicitor fees at the start of your claim and as the case progresses. You also won’t pay any of these fees if the case fails.
If your claim wins, then your solicitor will deduct an agreed percentage of your compensation as a success fee for their work. The size of the percentage has a legal limit, meaning that you will keep the majority of the compensation.
Talk To Our Team About A Claim If you Fall In The Street
Talk to our team today about your fall injury and how it happened. They can answer questions such as ‘Can I claim if I fall in the street?’ and might be able to connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors. So, for a free consultation, please get in touch via the details below:
- Call 0800 073 8804.
- Fill out our online ‘contact us’ form.
- Message in our live support chat.
Get Further Advice On Public Accident Claims
Here are some of our related guides:
- Find out what the pavement trip hazard height is in the UK.
- Learn how to make a personal injury claim due to a pothole accident.
- Discover how to best prove liability in a slip and fall claim.
Alternatively, these other pages might be of use:
- Government advice on how to report a problem with a pavement.
- NHS guidance on when you should go to A&E for your injuries.
- A government overview of services, including for streets and pavements.
Thank you for reading our guide, which we hope has answered the question, ‘Can I claim if I fall in the street?’
