What is a slip and fall compensation claim?
A slip and fall claim is a legal compensation claim that can be taken out if a person slipped and fell in a public place, and the cause of the slip was due to the negligence of the owner or occupier.
When are you eligible for a slip and fall compensation claim?
If you are looking to make a slip and fall compensation claim, there are a number of factors that you need to be able to prove:
- You must show that the owner or occupier owed you a duty of care. If you fell in a shopping centre, a business or some other public place then this should be fairly easy to prove, since most of the time the owner or occupier has a duty of care to provide a safe environment to the people that are using it.
- You must show that your slip was caused by their negligence. This is a key component of the claim, the slip must be caused by the owner or occupier breaching their duty of care, such as leaving out hazardous obstacles, not identifying slippery areas or not repairing broken fixtures that caused the fall.
- You must show that you experienced loss due to an injury caused or aggravated by the fall. If the fall did not cause significant loss financially or in your quality of life then chances are your compensation claim will not be viable.
What is the slip and fall compensation claim process?
If you’ve suffered a slip and fall then you should take a number of steps as quickly as possible to maximise your chances of building a strong case:
- Immediately report the incident to the person responsible for the place where you fell. This might be a homeowner, building manager, local authority or shopping centre manager. Ask them to make a full slip and fall accident report, as this will become a piece of evidence later on in the process.
- Start gathering evidence at the scene. Take photos of the surrounding area, particularly the hazard that caused the slip and fall, and also the names and contact details of any witnesses.
- Start gathering medical reports and financial loss evidence. Ensure that you go to a doctor to have your injuries assessed, treated and recorded. Similarly, if you’ve had to take time off work or incurred financial loss from the incident, ensure that you are keeping records.
- Reach out to a personal injury lawyer. Find a lawyer that understands slip and fall claims and is able to lodge the compensation claim for you. This will be important for building a strong case.
- Make your claim within three years of the incident. It is important to start the process as soon as possible with your lawyer. While you do have up to 3 years to make your claim, the sooner you start the better.
- Settlement. Most slip and fall claims are settled out of court within 6 to 12 months of your injury having stabilised. This means that the process can take a long time to resolve and it is important to continue to work with your lawyer and medical professionals to keep the claim up to date.
- Court. Should your matter not resolve by settlement, it may proceed to a court hearing. If this occurs, rest assured our lawyers will prepare the claim carefully and professionally in order to present the best possible claim to the court.