Falls, Slips & Trips – Public & Occupier’s Liability

Injured after a trip or a fall? You could be in line for compensation.

Slips, trips and falls can occur in many situations and for many reasons. Spillages, slippery floors, poorly maintained pavements and potholes can all lead to serious injuries, impacting your work and home life. Whether you’ve sustained an injury in a public place, a shop or a place of work, if it was the result of negligence on the part of someone else you may well have grounds to claim compensation.

At Wafer Phillips we have many years of experience in winning substantial financial compensation for our clients. We have a network of expert medical professionals who can assess your injury and we’ll work hard on your behalf to ensure someone else’s negligence doesn’t end up leaving you out of pocket.

Please be aware that these type of cases are complex and there are technical defences that may be impossible to breach. Each case is different and fact sensitive and therefore we are happy to discuss free of charge and free of commitment. Often we speak to individuals who believe that the seriousness of an accident is the key issue and this would be incorrect. Just because your injuries may be life threatening or life changing or in particular affect your ability to work and earn a living, has no relevance as to whether the case is won or lost. In other words, falling over in the street no matter how bad the fall does not necessarily mean that you would be granted compensation. There is an implicit protection afforded to local authorities that operate as a public service – but that does not mean these cases are unwinnable.

Unfortunately since 2012 sweeping changes have been made to the legal system. Costs are fixed so that we are only entitled to a set amount of money for the work that we do and this is very low. This therefore means that we are forced, as are other solicitors, to deduct part of your compensation in part payment of our costs and at the moment this is set at a maximum of 25% of your compensation. If you are to receive £4,000.00 in compensation we would deduct £1,000.00. There is obviously an incentive for us to secure for you the best possible deal –something that is, of course, mutually beneficial.

Prior to 2012 if a case was taken to Court and lost the defendant’s costs would have to be paid by the loser, either you or us. However, since the introduction of Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting – also known as QOCS – if a case proceeds to trial and is lost there is no responsibility on you or us to pay the opposition’s costs but there is one significant exception to this rule which is that if the Court decides, however, that if you have behaved fraudulently the protection is removed and you will be personally liable to pay the opposition’s fees. The Government are keen to stop what it sees as widespread fraud and deception (the actual reality is another matter) in regard to car crash claims and it is because of this perception that changes have been made and continue to be made to the legal system.

WE ARE STILL A NO WIN, NO FEE FIRM