Public Liability Claim Solicitors
If you have been injured in an accident in a public place, shop, restaurant or other premises and want to know whether the occupier is responsible, our solicitors, with over 17 years of experience in public liability claims in England and Wales, can help.
A public liability claim in England and Wales arises when someone is injured on premises owned or controlled by another person or organisation and the occupier has failed to meet their legal duty of care. The primary legal framework is the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, which imposes a common duty of care on occupiers to take reasonable care to ensure that visitors are reasonably safe for the purposes for which they have been invited or permitted to be on the premises. A separate regime applies to those who are not lawful visitors under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984, which gives such persons a more limited right of action where the occupier is aware of a danger and takes an unreasonable risk with their safety.
Public liability accidents can happen anywhere: in supermarkets, restaurants, leisure centres, car parks, hotels, shopping centres, or on public footpaths. The occupier may be a private business, a local authority, or any other body in control of the relevant premises. Law Lane Solicitors advises people injured in public places from our offices in Stratford, High Holborn and Croydon. Founded in 2015, we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our reviews average 4.95 out of 5 based on over 1,200 reviews.
What does our public liability claims service cover?
Public liability claims arise in a wide variety of circumstances. Our team advises and acts on the following matters:
- Slip, trip and fall claims in shops, supermarkets and restaurants, including accidents caused by wet floors, spillages, uneven surfaces, and inadequate warning signs where the occupier has failed to meet the common duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
- Claims following accidents in leisure centres, gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities, where the occupier has failed to maintain equipment or the premises in a safe condition for visitors.
- Hotel and holiday accident claims, including injuries caused by defective furniture, unsafe pool areas, slippery bathroom floors, and other hazards on hotel premises.
- Shopping centre and car park accidents, including falls on poorly maintained surfaces, lighting failures, and structural defects affecting visitors.
- Playground and park injury claims against local authorities, where defective equipment or poorly maintained surfaces have caused injury to a child or adult user.
- Claims arising from falling objects, defective staircases, broken handrails and other structural failures on commercial or public premises.
- Footpath and pavement claims against highway authorities, where a failure to maintain a public footpath or pavement has caused a pedestrian to fall or be injured.
- Claims under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 for persons who are not lawful visitors, advising on the more limited but available duty of care in those circumstances.
- Advice on contributory negligence, where the occupier argues that the injured person was partly responsible for the accident and that any award should be reduced accordingly.
- Claims under the Limitation Act 1980, advising on the three-year limitation period from the date of accident or date of knowledge, including the rules for claimants who were under 18 at the time of the accident.
Why choose Law Lane for public liability claims?
Public liability insurers frequently deny liability or argue that the occupier had a reasonable system of inspection in place, that the hazard was temporary and that they had no prior knowledge of it, or that the injured person was responsible for failing to look where they were going. These are standard defences, and they require a solicitor who knows how to test them. The key questions are: what inspection regime did the occupier operate, how frequently was the area checked, and does the evidence show that the hazard had been present long enough that a proper inspection system should have detected it?
We build public liability cases around the documentary and witness evidence that either supports or undermines the occupier’s claimed inspection system. Surveillance footage, accident report books, cleaning logs and maintenance records are all sources of evidence that can be decisive. We advise on what evidence to obtain and how to preserve it from the outset.
We have solicitors, solicitor-advocates and barristers working under one roof. Where an occupier denies liability and proceedings are necessary, our in-house team can take the case from the letter of claim through to trial without the delay and disruption of instructing external counsel. Continuity of representation matters when the case turns on detailed factual evidence.
Get in touch
Our personal injury team is ready to advise you on your public liability claim today. Prompt instruction preserves the evidence and keeps your options open.
Phone: 020 7870 4870 or email: info@lawlanesolicitors.co.uk
Law Lane Solicitors is proud to be accredited under The Law Society’s Immigration and Asylum Accreditation.
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Frequently Asked Questions – Personal Injury
Who is an occupier for the purposes of a public liability claim?
An occupier under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 is someone who has a sufficient degree of control over premises to be under a duty to take precautions for the safety of those coming onto them. There may be more than one occupier of the same premises: a landlord and a tenant, or a shopping centre owner and an individual retailer, can each owe duties in respect of different parts or aspects of the premises. We advise on who the correct defendant is at the outset of every instruction.
What is the common duty of care?
The common duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 is a duty to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure that the visitor is reasonably safe for the purposes for which they are there. The standard is reasonableness rather than a guarantee of safety. An occupier who can show a proper system of regular inspection and prompt remediation of hazards may be able to defend a claim even where an accident has occurred.
How long do I have to bring a public liability claim?
The general limitation period under the Limitation Act 1980 is three years from the date of the accident or the date on which you first had knowledge that your injury was significant and attributable to the occupier’s default. For claimants who were under 18 at the time of the accident, the three-year period does not begin until their 18th birthday. Strict adherence to the deadline is essential: missing it will ordinarily bar the claim.
What if the accident happened in a rented property?
Where an accident occurs in a rented property, the question of who owes the relevant duty of care depends on the terms of the tenancy and who was responsible for the part of the premises that caused the accident. A landlord who has retained control of common areas, such as staircases and entrance halls, may owe a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 to visitors and others who use those areas. We advise on the correct defendant in tenanted property cases.
Can I claim if the accident was partly my fault?
Yes, provided the occupier was also at fault. Where contributory negligence applies, your compensation is reduced by the proportion of responsibility attributed to you. A court may find, for example, that you were 20% responsible for failing to take reasonable care for your own safety, reducing your damages by that percentage. We advise on the likely approach to contributory negligence based on the specific facts of your accident.
What evidence should I gather after an accident in a public place?
The most useful evidence is gathered as soon as possible after the accident. You should take photographs of the hazard that caused the accident, note the names and contact details of any witnesses, and report the accident to the manager or person in charge. Ask for a copy of the accident report. If CCTV cameras cover the area, request that the footage be preserved, as it is often automatically overwritten after 30 days. We advise on further evidence gathering once instructed.
Can I claim if the accident happened on a public footpath?
Yes. Highway authorities owe a duty to maintain public footpaths in their area. Where a failure to do so causes an injury, a claim may be available against the relevant authority. The highway authority may seek to rely on a defence under section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 by showing that it had a reasonable system of inspection and maintenance in place. The strength of that defence depends on the evidence about what the authority’s inspection records show.
How much does an initial consultation cost?
We offer a fixed-fee initial consultation for public liability matters. At that meeting, we review the circumstances of the accident, advise on liability, limitation and the likely value of your claim, and set out the funding options available to you. Please get in touch to arrange a time.
Personal injury team
Tahir Shahab Khan
Supervising Director, Solicitor AdvocateView Profile | ContactBook Appointment
Jai Singh
SolicitorView Profile | ContactBook Appointment
Monica Coleman
SolicitorView Profile | ContactBook Appointment
Nicola Miley
Senior Litigation ExecutiveView Profile | ContactBook Appointment
Sajad Zamir
ParalegalView Profile | ContactBook Appointment
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