What the law requires
Rail claims are unusual because responsibility for a station is divided. The train operator is responsible for the trains and often for the platform; Network Rail is responsible for much of the wider station infrastructure. Identifying the right defendant is a real part of the work.
The duty itself is the ordinary one owed by an occupier and a carrier: to take reasonable care for the safety of passengers using the station and the trains.
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:
- Station and on-train CCTV, held by whichever organisation controls that area.
- The gap between train and platform at that specific stop, which is measured and recorded.
- Maintenance and cleaning records for the area where you fell.
- Whether staff were present and what they did, which is usually on the same footage.
What to do now
The evidence that decides these claims has a short life. If the accident was recent:
-
1
Report it Tell the police if anyone was hurt or a driver failed to stop, and report it to your insurer even if the other driver was at fault.
-
2
Get the details Registration, name, address and insurer of every vehicle involved, plus contact details for anyone who saw it.
-
3
Photograph everything Final positions, damage to both vehicles, skid marks, road layout and any signage or signals.
-
4
See a doctor A record made close to the accident is the strongest evidence that the injury came from it.
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.