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Fall accidents – whether it’s a fall caused by a slip or a trip, or a fall from height in the workplace on some ladders or scaffolding, the injuries can be devastating. There’s plenty of health and safety legislation in place for general public places, as well as for workplaces, to prevent people from being injured in a fall accident.
Let’s take a look at the law and when you may have a claim for personal injury compensation.
When can you claim
Some common fall accidents where you may have a valid claim for personal injury compensation can be:
- Falling from a slip on a wet floor or a spilled food product
- Tripping on a defect like a pothole, or perhaps on a raised section of flooring
- Tripping on a hazard in a walkway, like an unattended box in a supermarket aisle or in a workplace
- Falling from ladders due to the ladders being unsafe or unsuitable
- Falling whilst working at height due to a lack of guard rails or equipment (like harnesses) to prevent a fall
All of the above can be preventable by taking simple steps to either remove hazards, warn of hazards (through the use of signs or cordons), and by providing rails and equipment to keep people safe. How we win a claim is often down to whether we can prove that whoever is responsible should, and could, have reasonably done more to have prevented the accident.
The Law
Much of the law is about ensuring that those responsible take steps to prevent accidents like the above occurring. We’ll start with public places – if they’re privately owned, like a shop, restaurant, or supermarket perhaps, the common law that will normally apply is The Occupiers Liability Act. This states that the occupier of a premises should take all reasonable steps to prevent a person from being injured on their premises. Systems of inspection and maintenance can often achieve this.
If you fall whilst out and about in the streets, it’s normally The Highways Act that applies. Here, the local authority or council responsible for the area must also take reasonable steps to ensure highway users are not in danger of being injured. Systems of inspection should take place, but be warned – inspections can be months apart and are largely based on how busy an area is. A road may only be checked once every six months, and if you fall between inspection periods, they can defend the claim. The only argument you may have could be down to whether they had prior knowledge of the defect – perhaps because it had been reported by someone before your accident.
At work, using the scenarios above, there can be several regulations that apply. For general slips and trips that cause a fall, it’s The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations that can apply, and these put similar duties on employers as The Occupiers Liability Act does. If it’s down to ladders, it could either be The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations if it’s to do with ladders being unsuitable or unsafe, or it could be, as aptly named, The Work at Height Regulations. The latter covers more about equipment and guards / rails to prevent falls.
If you need a harness, or perhaps if you had a harness that was unsuitable or defective, we could even look at The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations. These cover the provision and suitability of equipment used for protection.
For work claims, you should have a good chance of winning as there are plenty of rules and regulations that enforce safety to prevent falls. But either way, if we think you have a good enough chance of winning the case, we can offer a genuine No Win, No Fee agreement.
Our No Win, No Fee does exactly what it says on the tin – if the case is lost, we write off our fees meaning you pay nothing for the work we have carried out for you. Of course, terms and conditions apply – but you can find out more by calling 0800 634 75 75 today to chat about your eligibility for our No Win, No Fee offer.
