Slipping & Tripping Accidents

As the weather turns colder, we often encounter snow and ice, meaning pathways, pavements, roads, and car parks become extremely slippery and dangerous. If you have slipped and injured yourself on land which is under the control of the Council, we may be able to help with a claim. If the land is privately owned, you would need to find out who owns the land and if they hold public liability insurance. 

If you trip on the public highway, i.e., on a path or pavement, the defect (e.g., the raised paving slab, the rocking packing slab, or the hole) must be over 1” in depth or height to be considered dangerous and actionable which means it requires action taken to repair it. If you can prove these by way of photographs showing the measurements, then your claim may succeed. 

The law provides Highway Authorities with a defence to these types of claims if they can show that before your accident, they took all reasonable steps to maintain the highways. For example, by inspecting the area before your accident happened and noting that the defect, at the time they inspected, was not dangerous or actionable, or that the defect was already marked for repair and was due to be repaired within a reasonable and allowed period of time.

You may trip or slip in a shop, car park or other public or private place. This is known as an ‘accident in a premise’. In these types of situations, the owner/occupier is responsible for your safety whilst you are on or in their premises. They must be able to show that they have taken all reasonable steps to ensure you are safe. This could include displaying a yellow wet floor sign, if the floor had recently been mopped, or if there was a spillage, or placing a barrier around an unsafe area so that visitors cannot go in the dangerous area.