Welcome to our guide on how much compensation for slips, trips and falls you could be owed. Falling at work or in public can be painful, disruptive and distressing. You might pride yourself on taking care as you work or go about your day. So it’s only right that you seek compensation if your employer or those in charge of a space allowed health and safety standards to be compromised and you suffered as a result. This guide details everything you need to know about starting a claim:
What You Need To Know
- You’re owed a duty of care in certain places, which means others have a reasonable obligation to prevent you from suffering harm.
- You could be owed a personal injury compensation amount that covers the physical injury, psychological damage.
- Evidence of the injury and how the duty of care was breached can greatly strengthen your claim’s chances of success.
- There is a standard 3-year time limit for making personal injury claims.
- Our panel of solicitors provide their services to eligible claimants through a type of No Win No Fee contract.
Please connect with the team at any point as you read the sections below. You can also take the opportunity to get a free check for your eligibility right now. Our panel of solicitors could take up your claim and accurately calculate how much compensation for slips, trips and falls is owed to you:
- Ring us on 0800 408 7826
- Contact us here to get started.
- Ask the chat portal a question to connect immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How Much Compensation For Slips, Trips And Falls?
- Calculating Trip, Slip And Fall Compensation Amounts
- Who Can Claim Slip And Fall Compensation?
- Examples Of Slip, Trip, And Fall Claims
- What You Should Do After A Slip, Trip Or Fall
- The Trip, Slip And Fall Claims Time Limit
- No Win No Fee Slip Trip Or Fall Claims
- More Information
How Much Compensation For Slips, Trips And Falls?
You probably want to know how much compensation for slips, trips, and falls might apply to your claim. However, as every personal injury claim is different, there is no set amount. Instead, we are going to explain how compensation could be awarded for a successful claim.
Those responsible for the calculations can use tools like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to guide them. This publication provides compensation amounts for various injuries based on successful claims made in England and Wales.
The example table below uses some entries from the Judicial College Guidelines to illustrate slip, trip and fall injuries. Please bear in mind that they are purely guidelines, and the first line in our table is not lifted from this publication:
Compensation Guidelines
INJURY AREA SEVERITY COMPENSATION GUIDELINES NOTES
More than one type of severe injury with Special Damages award. Severe Up to £1 million plus. Here, the injured person experiences an array of severe injuries and is awarded an amount for lost earnings, medical bills and care given under Special Damages.
Head/Brain (a) Very Severe £344,150 going up to £493,000 A very serious permanent disability that means the person needs constant professional care.
(d) Less Severe £18,700 going up to £52,550 A good recovery on the whole, although some symptoms persist regarding concentration, memory and mood.
Neck (a) Severe (ii) £80,240 going up to £159,770 Covers cervical spine disc damage and serious fractures leading to permanent nerve damage or movement limitation.
Back (a) Severe (iii) £47,320 going up to £85,100 Fractures or lesions on discs and soft tissue injuries, where despite surgery, pain and agility problems remain.
Severe Leg (iii) Serious £47,840 going up to £66,920 Comminuted and compound fractures or joint and ligament damage that causes instability and requires prolonged treatment.
Pelvis/Hip (b) Moderate (i) £32,450 going up to £47,810 A significant injury that might require a hip replacement, but any margin for permanent disability is not great.
Ankle (c) Moderate £16,770 going up to £32,450 Fractures or tears to ligaments that create problems with prolonged standing on certain surfaces or awkwardness on stairs.
Knee (b) Moderate (i) £18,110 going up to £31,960 Dislocations, torn cartilage and meniscus injuries that can create mild future disability.
Shoulder (b) Serious £15,580 going up to £23,430 Dislocations that cause damage to the lower region of the brachial plexus, resulting in aching and a weak grip.
Calculating Trip, Slip And Fall Compensation Amounts
Typically, there are two categories of loss that can make up a compensation amount. The first one is general damages. This applies a value to the following:
- Physical and psychological pain.
- The severity of the injuries.
- How complex and prolonged the recovery is.
- The ‘loss of amenity’ experienced. This term describes the loss of activities or pleasures that the person can no longer enjoy after the injury.
Using medical reports as a guide, a figure can be calculated to reflect these issues. Alongside this, a head of loss called special damages can add to the compensation total. This takes into account the financial losses caused by the slip, trip or fall. Evidence of loss and expense is needed to claim special damages, such as:
- Payslips or bank statements that prove how your income has suffered.
- Proof of any self-funded medical expenses.
- Estimates or invoices that prove the cost of making essential changes to your home or car (like the installation of a wheelchair ramp).
- Evidence of long-term rehabilitation costs for any brain injuries suffered.
- Proof of domestic care costs provided by professionals, family or friends.
- Tickets and receipts for vital travel costs.
It’s also possible to calculate future costs to you because of a permanent disability. This might include prolonged physiotherapy or the calculated loss of future earnings if you can’t return to work.
It’s important to submit a thorough claim, and our panel of solicitors can help you with this. Speak to us to see how much compensation you could be due for slips, trips, and falls.
Who Can Claim Slip And Fall Compensation?
There is criteria that apply to starting a personal injury claim. You are required to demonstrate all three of the following:
- A duty of care was owed to you (we explain duty of care in the next section).
- It was breached by those responsible.
- You suffered injury as a direct consequence.
It may not be straightforward to determine your eligibility to claim. So, if you’re looking for guidance, our team is available to help. Simply call, contact us online or ask advisors a question through the live chat box below.
Examples Of Slip, Trip, And Fall Claims
There are numerous examples of how a slip, trip or fall can form the basis of a compensation claim against a negligent third party. We look at two areas where accidents often happen and explain the duty of care that applies. In addition to this, we give an example scenario of a slip, trip or fall which could be the basis of a claim:
Accidents At Work
The duty of care in the workplace is enshrined in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). It requires all UK employers to take reasonable and proportionate steps to ensure workers are safe while doing their jobs (as much as reasonably possible).
There is a wide swathe of actions an employer should take to do this. This includes carrying out regular risk assessments of any workplace hazards and ensuring staff are fully trained in health and safety procedures.
Example – An employer failed to correctly stow computer cables in an office. Because of this, a worker tripped and suffered a broken wrist and soft tissue injury in a fall.
Accidents In A Public Place
Third parties in charge of areas open to the public owe them a duty of care. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, they must put in place whatever steps and actions are reasonable to protect visitors and the public from harm. This might entail clear warning signs of any unavoidable hazards or responding promptly to any repairs that may pose a risk to visitors.
Example – The owner of a restaurant failed to put warning signs around a wet floor surface. A diner slipped on the floor and suffered a back injury as a result.
There can be a wide range of other slip, trip and fall hazards. If you feel confident that your injury was the result of others failing to meet their duty of care to your safety, get in touch. Also, if you’re not sure whether the circumstances of your accident apply, we can offer on the spot help.
What You Should Do After A Slip, Trip Or Fall
There are a number of steps you can take after a slip, trip or fall, such as attending to your injuries and laying the foundation for any compensation claim you wish to make. To help, here is a checklist:
- Seek medical attention (for a minor as well as serious injury).
- Report the accident to your workplace supervisor or line manager (at work) or whoever is in charge (in public places).
- Get copies from any accident book entry made about the injury.
- Take photos of the injuries and the cause of the slip, trip or fall.
- Gather the contact information for anyone who witnessed the accident. If you decide to appoint a solicitor, they can get an account from these individuals that might strengthen your claim.
- Obtain copies of medical records from your GP, the A&E, or any follow-up care that you needed for your injury, such as specialist treatments and help with any associated mental health condition.
- See if you can get CCTV footage from the area where the fall accident happened.
Evidence like this can create a solid foundation for a personal injury claim. However, you could still have a valid case without all the evidence above. Speak to our team for a free assessment of your claim. They can also explain in more detail how to find a solicitor from our panel to help start your personal injury claim.
The Trip, Slip And Fall Claims Time Limit
There is a time limit of 3 years in which to start a personal injury claim for compensation as laid out in the Limitation Act 1980. There is no time limit in which personal injury claims need to settle. Standard limitation periods differ for two categories of claimant:
- A minor cannot start a personal injury claim on their own. Instead, they have 3 years to do so from the date of their 18th birthday.
- A freeze is placed on the time limit for claimants lacking sufficient mental capacity to handle the claims process themselves. They have 3 years to claim from any point at which their mental capacity returns.
- Alternatively, a member of the family or other involved party may start a personal injury claim immediately for these two groups. Acting in the role of a litigation friend, they carry out the duties of the claim and act in the person’s best interests.
- Importantly, if a litigation friend starts a claim immediately, no future claim can be made for that injury.
Our team are available to discuss time limits, the role of litigation friends or any other aspect of the personal injury claim process. They could also connect you to an expert solicitor from our panel to see how much compensation for slips, trips and falls might apply for you.
No Win No Fee Slip Trip Or Fall Claims
You could qualify to fund legal services for your personal injury claim through a type of No Win No Fee agreement. The specialist solicitors on our panel provide a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This type of legal agreement provides a wealth of benefits to the person seeking compensation:
- With a CFA, there aren’t any upfront solicitors’ fees to pay for work to start on your claim.
- No solicitor’s fees apply for the work carried out going forward.
- No fees apply for completed work if the claim fails.
A CFA means that you only pay your personal injury solicitors a ‘success fee’ for their services if the claim is decided in your favour. This is a percentage of the compensation, and you can decide on the amount prior to working together. In addition to this, a legal limit keeps the success fee low. This ensures that the person trying to claim compensation always benefits most from the outcome.
Contact Our Advisors
Interested in seeing how much compensation for slips, trips and falls an advisor from our team could calculate for you? This estimate, combined with an assessment of your eligibility, could help you get started on a claim today.
- Contact us using this option.
- Ring us on 0800 408 7826 to discuss your personal injury compensation claim.
- Ask a question in the live discussion window to connect immediately.
More Information
In addition to guidance on how much compensation for slips, trips, and falls applies, these related articles offer further reading:
- Here is guidance after slipping on a wet floor.
- Also, compensation after tripping on the pavement.
- In addition, you can read about claims after a fall.
External resources to help:
- Here is guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) about avoiding slips and trips at work.
- The NHS provides an A-Z list of symptoms to help.
- Lastly, information on how to obtain CCTV footage of your accident.
To close, thank you for your interest in how much compensation for slips, trips, and falls can apply. If you need further guidance on seeking compensation for injuries suffered after someone else’s negligent actions, please reach out to our dedicated team of advisors.