Public Place Accidents
A major cause of accidents in the UK are slips, trips, and falls in public places, either outdoors or inside. If you have an accident of this kind whilst you are at work special considerations apply, and you should go to our ACCIDENTS AT WORK page. Otherwise, slips and trips can happen for a number of reasons, for example:-
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Spillages.
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Trailing cables.
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Rugs/mats.
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Slippery floor surfaces.
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Uneven surfaces such as broken pavements and potholes.
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Poor lighting.
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Dangerous areas with no warning signs.
Always the main question in cases like these is whether the person responsible for the upkeep of the place where the accident happened took reasonable care or not.For example, if you trip over an uneven pavement, is the council to blame? A court would say that councils can’t be expected to instantly repair every broken or sagging paving slab that comes along, or even to be aware of it. All they can be expected to do is to have a reasonable system of inspection of pavements in place that ensures checks are made at acceptable intervals to see whether holes or uneven surfaces are developing.
As to what reasonable inspections are, this alters according to circumstances. It might well be reasonable for the council to check the main shopping street in your town once every few weeks. On the other hand a quiet country lane might only be inspected once a year. Much the same considerations apply to unlucky people who slip on patches of water in supermarkets – should the staff of the supermarket have known of the wet patch, and did they have a reasonable time in which to mop it up?Did they have a proper system of inspection?
GOING TO COURT - The vast majority of claims settle out of court. If that does not prove possible and court is the only way forward, many victims of accidents give up due to a fear that they will be found liable to pay the other side’s heavy legal costs if they lose. Their solicitor may have been happy to do the case on a “no win no fee” basis, so at least they’re not getting a bill from him, but that is not much comfort when they get handed a bill for tens of thousands of pounds from their victorious opponents!
We have the solution to this problem.We can offer you ATE (After The Event) insurance, an ideal arrangement for the vast majority of litigants who have limited funds but nevertheless are left with no alternative but to seek justice in the courts.
If you have our ATE arrangement, we will not only handle the case on a no win no fee basis, but will also take out an insurance policy for you which pays your legal costs should the subsequent court case not be successful. In our scheme the premium will only be around £200 - £300. You don’t have to pay it until the end of the case, and only then if you have been successful, which of course means there is no loss to you at all if the case is unsuccessful. Outlays incurred during the case are also refunded if the result is unfavourable, so effectively you can pursue a court action in a completely safe place. The only requirement is that the case must have at least a 51% chance of success. We will assess this for you completely free of charge.
Free, No Obligation Assistance
Simply call us for a free, no obligation discussion today on 0131 222 8000 or complete the enquiry form on the right of this page and we will be delighted to help you.
