Public Liability Claims


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If you have been injured in a public place as a result of someone or another party’s negligence you may be entitled to pursue a public liability claim for injury compensation.  


Public liability claims can be as a result of a slip or fall in a public place i.e. a supermarket, shopping centre or on public property. Public liability claims can also be in a private building (or dwelling) however the owner of the building must have an insurance policy that extends to public liability cover. Injuries sustained on planes or boats may also lead to a public liability claim for compensation. 

 
For many public liability claims to be successful, negligence has to be clearly established and proven. However, this will much depend on where the injury took place and the circumstances surrounding the injury.  In some cases you can claim if there has been part liability or in a situation where there has been what is known as contributory negligence. Contributory negligence is where the plaintiff has contributed to the harm that was suffered through his or her own negligence. One example of this is if the plaintiff was crossing the road negligently i.e. running without looking and the driver too was driving negligently i.e. driving too fast and not paying attention to the road then they both share negligence and are both responsible for the injury sustained.


In the situation of contributory negligence the level of compensation awarded will be reduced accordingly, for example if the plaintiff was 50% responsible (or 50% negligent) his (or her) injury compensation claim may be reduced by 50%. 


If you are searching for a public liability lawyer to represent you, these types of lawyers are otherwise known as personal injury lawyers or compensation lawyers. However, not all injury lawyers will take on public liability claim on a ‘no win no fee’ basis if there is a high level of risk. Where there is not enough evidence to support the claim, a public liability claim can be quite risky if negligence cannot be clearly defined.

There are three key things that influences whether or not you have a good public liability claim.  

  • Negligence has to be clearly identified and proven – there must be evidence stacked up
  • Permanence of injury. Whether the injury has caused a permanent impairment will impact your claim. For example if you fell over on a public footpath but recovered fully and quickly from your injury you won’t have a strong case to gain direct compensation for the injury. This does not affect your entitlement to claim for expenses incurred such as loss of earnings, medical expenses, etc.
  • The level of economic loss. Whether there has been a great economic loss as a result of the injury. If you are an older person who is no longer working and it hasn’t affected your life in a financial sense you may not have a good claim


 



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