Accident in a Public Place Claims: Injured by a Trip, Fall or Hazard That Wasn't Your Fault
An accident in a public place claim is an injury claim against the council, business or landowner responsible for a pavement, shop, park, car park or building where you were hurt because they failed to keep it reasonably safe; it must normally be started within three years, it is usually run on a no win no fee basis, and National Accident Support Line assesses whether you have a claim and refers it to a specialist solicitor with a callback within 2 minutes.
The injuries are ordinary and the consequences are not. A raised paving slab, a wet supermarket floor with no sign, a missing handrail, a loose kerb, a dog off its lead. A broken wrist means weeks off work; a hip fracture for an older person changes a life. Whoever is responsible for the place has a legal duty to keep it reasonably safe, and when they have not, the cost of the injury sits with them.
We'll call you back within 2 minutes with a straight answer on where you stand.
Who is responsible for a public place accident
It depends on who controls the place. Pavements, roads, public parks, playgrounds and council buildings are the local authority's responsibility under the Highways Act 1980 and the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957. Shops, supermarkets, restaurants, pubs, hotels, gyms and car parks are the responsibility of the business that occupies them, and sometimes the landlord who owns the building. A privately owned road or a housing estate is the landowner's. A dog is its owner's. The claim goes against whoever had the duty and failed in it, and it is their insurer, not the individual, who pays.
What you have to prove
Three things. That the place was in a dangerous condition; that the danger caused your injury; and that the person responsible failed to take reasonable care to find and fix it. The third is where public place claims are won and lost, and it is worth being honest about the two rules that decide most of them.
The first is the height of the defect. For a pavement trip, courts have long treated a raised or sunken edge of roughly an inch, about 25mm, as the point at which a defect becomes dangerous. Below that, a claim is hard. This is why photographing the defect with a ruler, a coin or a shoe for scale on the day matters more than any other single step.
The second is the council's inspection defence, known as the section 58 defence. A council that can show it inspected the pavement on a reasonable schedule, had a competent inspector, and had no reports of the defect can avoid liability even where the defect was dangerous. Claims fail on this regularly. They succeed where the defect had clearly been there for a long time, had been reported before, or was part of an obviously deteriorated stretch the inspection should have picked up. Reporting a hazard to the council after your accident does two things: it gets it fixed for the next person, and it dates the defect.
Businesses have no equivalent defence, but they will argue that the hazard was signed, that it had only just arisen, or that you were not looking. A shop's accident book entry, CCTV, and the names of the staff who helped you are the evidence that settles those arguments.
Common public place accidents and who is responsible
| Where it happened | What usually causes it | Who is usually responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Pavement or road | Raised or sunken slab, pothole, loose kerb, missing manhole cover | The local council (highways authority) |
| Supermarket, shop or restaurant | Wet floor with no sign, spillage, trailing cable, stock in the aisle, falling stock | The business, sometimes the landlord |
| Park, playground or public building | Defective equipment, broken steps, missing handrail, poor lighting | The council or the body that runs it |
| Car park | Potholes, unmarked kerbs, poor lighting, ice with no gritting | The operator or landowner |
| Hotel, pub or gym | Stairs without handrails, wet changing rooms, faulty equipment | The business |
| Street or park, dog attack | A dog off the lead or not under control | The dog's owner |
| Anywhere, criminal assault | Where the venue failed to provide reasonable security, the venue; otherwise the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | The venue or CICA |
Slips, trips and falls make up the majority of these claims, and they have their own page on slip, trip and fall claims. The injuries they cause, from sprains to fractures to head injuries, are covered in our guide to common injuries from pavement accidents.
We'll call you back within 2 minutes with a straight answer on where you stand.
The situations people describe to us
"I tripped on a paving slab outside my house and broke my wrist"
The classic council claim. Whether it succeeds depends on how high the defect was, how long it had been there, and whether the council's inspection should have caught it. Photograph it with something for scale, report it to the council, and ask neighbours whether it had been reported before. All three help.
"I slipped on a wet floor in a supermarket and there was no sign"
Ask for the accident to be recorded in the store's accident book before you leave, get the names of the staff who helped, and ask for the CCTV to be kept. Supermarkets have a duty to inspect floors at regular intervals and to sign a spillage as soon as it is found; the claim turns on whether they did.
"I fell down stairs with no handrail in a pub"
Stairs are a known hazard and the occupier has to make them reasonably safe: handrails, lighting, even treads, non-slip surfaces where wet. Missing or broken handrails are among the strongest public place claims because the defect is obvious and the fix is cheap.
"I was bitten by a dog in the park"
If the dog was someone's pet, the claim is against the owner, and their home insurance often covers it. If the dog was a stray and the injury was serious, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority may compensate you. Either way, report the bite to the police and get the wound treated the same day.
What to do after an accident in a public place
Get medical attention first; a GP or A&E record from the day is the strongest evidence in any injury claim. Report the accident to whoever is responsible for the place, the council for a pavement, the manager for a shop, and get it recorded. Photograph the hazard from several angles with something for scale, and photograph your injuries. Take names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it happen. Ask for CCTV to be preserved. Keep every receipt and a note of every day off work. Then get in touch, because the three-year limit runs from the date of the accident and evidence fades faster than that.
How a public place claim works with National Accident Support Line
Tell us what happened, by the form, WhatsApp or a call to 0333 212 2730, and web enquiries are called back within 2 minutes during opening hours. We ask the questions that decide these claims: where, how high, how long, who saw it, whether it was reported. If there is a claim, we refer it to a specialist personal injury solicitor who runs it on a no win no fee basis, so you pay nothing upfront and the solicitor's fee only applies if the claim succeeds. If there isn't a claim, we tell you straight. National Accident Support Line is an FCA-regulated claims management company, not a law firm, and our wider personal injury claims service covers injuries at work and on the road as well as in public.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim for a fall on a public pavement?
Yes, if the defect was dangerous, usually a raised or sunken edge of around an inch or more, and the council failed to inspect and repair it reasonably. Photograph the defect with something for scale and report it to the council.
How long do I have to claim for an accident in a public place?
Three years from the date of the accident in England and Wales, or from the date you knew your injury was caused by it. For a child, the three years run from their 18th birthday.
Who pays if I claim against the council?
The council's insurer or its own claims fund. A successful claim does not come out of an individual inspector's pocket, and it does not affect your own insurance.
What if there was a wet floor sign?
A sign helps the business but does not end the claim. The questions are whether the sign was visible from where you approached, whether the spillage should have been cleaned rather than signed, and whether the floor was inspected at reasonable intervals.
Do I need to have reported the accident at the time?
No, but it helps a great deal. An accident book entry, a council report or a police reference dates the hazard and the injury. If you didn't report it on the day, do so now.
Will I have to go to court?
Most public place claims settle without a hearing. A claim is issued at court only when the responsible party will not accept liability or will not settle fairly, and even then the majority settle before trial.
What does no win no fee mean?
You pay nothing upfront and nothing if the claim fails. If it succeeds, the solicitor's success fee, capped at 25% of the compensation and agreed before the claim starts, is deducted from the award.
Can I claim if I was partly to blame?
Yes. If you were not looking where you were going, or ignored a warning, the claim may be reduced by a percentage rather than refused.
We'll call you back within 2 minutes with a straight answer on where you stand.
National Accident Support Line Ltd is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated claims management activities, registration number 829991.