What the law requires
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 governs the duty owed to lawful visitors: reasonable care to see that the visitor is reasonably safe for the purposes of the visit. A separate and much narrower duty is owed to trespassers under the 1984 Act.
Claims against a private individual are met by their home insurance in most cases, which is a point worth understanding before deciding whether to pursue one against someone you know.
What decides a claim like this
Liability is established on records far more often than on recollection. In this kind of claim the documents that matter most are:
- Who the occupier actually was — the owner, a tenant, or a managing agent.
- Whether the hazard was known about, and for how long.
- For communal areas in rented buildings, the landlord's repairing obligations.
- Whether you were a visitor, a contractor or a trespasser, which changes the duty owed.
What to do now
The evidence that decides these claims has a short life. If the accident was recent:
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1
Report it to whoever runs the place Ask for the incident number or a copy of the report. Occupiers are not obliged to give you one, but a request on record is useful.
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2
Photograph the hazard immediately The defect will be repaired, cleaned or signed within days, and once it is gone it is very hard to prove.
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3
Measure it if you safely can Depth and size decide highway and building-regulation claims. A coin or a shoe in frame gives scale.
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4
Get the injury recorded A&E, a minor injuries unit or your GP. The date on that record matters.
How long you have to claim
The general limitation period for a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the accident, or from the date you first knew the injury was significant and attributable to someone else. If you were under 18 at the time, the three years runs from your eighteenth birthday. Where the injured person lacks mental capacity, time may not run at all.\n\nThe practical deadline is shorter than the legal one. CCTV is overwritten, defects are repaired and records are archived, so a claim started early is almost always a stronger claim.
How we work
We assess the claim, obtain the records that decide it, instruct an independent medical expert and deal with the insurer throughout. Personal injury claims of this kind are run on a No Win, No Fee agreement: there is nothing to pay upfront, and nothing to pay us for our work if the claim does not succeed. A success fee is deducted from the compensation if it does, and we set that out in writing before you commit to anything.