Making a Claim for an Accident in a Public Place
Most importantly, if you are considering making a personal injury claim for an accident in a public place, you should seek specialist legal advice from a reputable, experienced, personal injury lawyer.
In every case, medical evidence will be required. Detailed expert evidence is often also required in disease cases to show that the condition suffered by a claimant was caused by exposure to a particular substance.
In any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.
For example, if you suffered a fall on a pavement caused by a hole or raised paving stone that should have been noticed and repaired, it is possible that the local authority could be found at fault. Similarly, if you slipped due to a spillage on the floor of a supermarket that should have been cleaned away, you may be able to hold them responsible. If however your accident was purely that, and no-one was to blame, it would not be possible to claim compensation.
Your lawyer can collate all of the evidence and advise on the best way to pursue a public liability claim on your behalf. It always assists the lawyers in proving the case to have a photograph taken at the time of the accident, or shortly afterwards, to show the hazard which caused the injury.
Compensation
If your claim is successful, and The Legal Line's solicitors will work hard to ensure that this is the case, you will be entitled to two elements of a compensation award.
The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things after the accident that you used to be able to do before (eg wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog etc). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.
The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred.
Compensation Claim Advice for Accidents and Injuries in Public Places
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