Personal Injury

Tripping and Slipping

These cases are usually against the council, and sometimes against shops.

Claims against the council are a bit of a lottery.  First, there are certain rules about the defect.  The most well known of these rules are that the defect has to be at least an inch.  This rule isn’t that straightforward, but a good starting point is to identify the defect, and then take good quality photographs of the defect, showing the measurements.  It is a good idea to have close up shots and general shots of the area.  It is a good idea to have the date placed on the pictures you take.

The second problem is that the council has a defence if they can show that they were inspecting the area regularly.  We are a little cynical about these inspections and recommend delaying claims for 6 months and then taking fresh photographs with the date on them.  This will at least show that the inspections are not working and may therefore overcome the defence.

Claims against shops are also a lottery in that the shop has a defence if they can show that they had a reasonable system for overcoming spillages/defects and that that system was in place on the day of your accident. 

In both cases, if you happen to have supporting evidence you have a good chance of succeeding in your claim.