Accidents in Public Places
We Can Help!
Wherever you go in England and Wales, whether it be shop, a public swimming pool or walking on the moors, the building or land is owned by someone. That person has duties to protect those present.
The extent of that duty depends on what you were doing there.
If you were in a shop or a swimming pool when injured then the chances are you were just doing what was expected of people using those buildings.
In that case the owner has a duty to take care to see that your are reasonably safe in using the premises for those purposes.
Examples of premises unlikely to be reasonably safe:-
- Trip risks such as raised carpets in walkways or broken steps.
- Hazards such as a missing grate on a drain
- Unexpected steps where no adequate warning is given.
- Walkways that are slippery because wet.
- Walkways in supermarkets where food has been spilt.
- Dance floors at night clubs where drink is spilt or glass is left on the floor.
- Significant drops where railings are not provided.
Events
Organisers of events have the same legal duty. Successful claims have been brought by those injured by cars and bikes at race events. There are from time to time very serious incidents of people killed or injured in fires in hotels, clubs, football grounds and train stations and those affected have obtained compensation alleging breach of this duty of care.
There is also a slightly different requirement to take care for the safety of people who may be on land for other reasons, including trespassers. If the owner knows or should know a danger is there and that people are likely to encounter it, they may have a duty to take steps to avoid people being injured.
Children
We all know that children are less responsible than adults and where children can be expected to go, the care taken to ensure their safety must take this into account.
This duty can be quite tough. So in one case a local authority were found liable to pay compensation to a boy who was injured repairing an old boat abandoned on council land when it collapsed. The Council knew of the boat and that it was in a dangerous condition. A Judge found they should have recognised that it was a magnet for children.
There have been a number of cases of children injured playing on building sites where no attempt has been made to fence them off or the fencing has been inadequate.
An owner of land or premises can reasonably expect that parents will control their children, the younger they are the more so. Therefore the owner may not be expected to protect against dangers when its not reasonable to think that children of that age and lack of understanding of risk may encounter them.
With its very experienced team of personal injury lawyers, Raleys will provide you with honest up front advice on whether you or your child can claim compensation.
