Public liability injury claims: how to claim if you were injured in a public place

If you were injured in a shop, supermarket, restaurant, car park, or any other public place, you may have a public liability claim. Public liability is the area of law that determines when a business or organisation is responsible for injuries that happen on its premises.

This guide explains who owes you a duty of care, what you need to prove, and how to start a claim. Links throughout point to our more detailed guides on specific types of accident.

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What is a public liability claim?

A public liability claim is a personal injury claim brought against a business, organisation or individual responsible for a public space where you were injured. The injury must have been caused by their failure to take reasonable care of visitors on their premises.

Public liability is distinct from:

• Employer liability (injuries at your own workplace caused by your employer)
• Road traffic accidents (injuries caused by another driver on the road)
• Medical negligence (injuries caused by substandard clinical care)

All three are separate areas of personal injury law. Public liability covers injuries in places that members of the public visit: shops, supermarkets, restaurants, leisure centres, car parks, pavements, and similar spaces.

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The law: Occupiers' Liability Act 1957

The main legal basis for public liability claims against businesses and organisations is the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957. This Act places a duty of care on "occupiers" of premises towards their "lawful visitors."

Who is an occupier? Any person or organisation that has control of the premises. A supermarket chain is the occupier of its stores. A restaurant owner is the occupier of the restaurant. A shopping centre management company is the occupier of the common areas.

Who is a lawful visitor? Anyone who has permission to be on the premises, whether express or implied. Customers in a shop, diners in a restaurant, and members of a gym are all lawful visitors.

The duty the 1957 Act imposes is to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure the visitor is reasonably safe for the purposes for which they were invited. This does not require premises to be risk-free. It requires that reasonable steps are taken to identify and deal with hazards.

When an occupier fails to meet this standard and a visitor is injured as a result, a claim for compensation can be made.

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Who can you claim against?

The defendant in a public liability claim is the occupier of the premises where you were injured. In practice this means:

Supermarkets and shops

The retailer is the occupier and owes you a duty of care as a customer. Claims arise from wet floors without warning signs, spillages not cleaned up, stock left in aisles, damaged flooring and car park hazards. Major UK retailers including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi, Waitrose, Co-op and Iceland all owe this duty to their customers.

See our detailed guide: Supermarket injury claims

Restaurants, pubs and cafes

Food and drink businesses owe the same duty. Wet floors near entrances, spills not dealt with quickly, poorly lit steps and uneven outdoor seating areas are common causes of claims.

Leisure centres and sports facilities

Gyms, swimming pools, sports halls and similar facilities are occupied by the management company or local authority running them. Wet changing room floors, damaged equipment and poorly maintained pool surrounds are all potential grounds for a claim.

Shopping centres

The management company is the occupier of communal areas such as walkways, escalators and car parks. Individual shops are occupiers of their own units.

Hotels and accommodation

Hotels owe a duty of care to guests. Slips in bathrooms, trips on uneven carpets, and falls on poorly lit stairs are examples of claims that succeed.

Hospitals and public buildings

NHS trusts and local authorities are occupiers of hospitals, libraries, council offices and similar public buildings and owe the same duty of care.

Car parks

Whether attached to a supermarket, a shopping centre or a standalone operation, car parks are premises in law. Potholes, raised kerbs, broken surfacing and inadequate lighting can all give rise to claims.

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Pavement and footpath injuries: the Highways Act 1980

Injuries on public pavements involve a different defendant and a different legal framework. The local highway authority (usually the county council or unitary authority) is responsible for maintaining public pavements under the Highways Act 1980, not the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957.

The council has a specific statutory defence available to it: if it can show it had a reasonable inspection and repair regime in place, it may avoid liability even if the defect existed.

For the full detail on pavement claims, including the 25mm rule and how to gather the right evidence, see: Pavement trip claims

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What you need to prove in a public liability claim

There are three things to establish.

1. The occupier owed you a duty of care As a lawful visitor (a customer, guest or member of the public with implied permission to be there), this follows automatically from the 1957 Act.

2. The occupier breached that duty You need to show that they failed to take reasonable care. This usually means showing that a hazard existed, that the occupier knew about it (or should have known about it through a reasonable inspection regime), and that they failed to deal with it within a reasonable time.

3. The breach caused your injury The hazard caused your fall or accident, and that accident caused the injury you are claiming for.

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Common defences occupiers raise

Contributory negligence: the occupier argues you were partly responsible, for example by not looking where you were going, by wearing inappropriate footwear, or by being distracted. If this is accepted, your award is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you. The claim is not lost entirely.

Warning signs: a wet floor sign was displayed and you failed to heed it. This can reduce liability but does not automatically defeat the claim, particularly if the sign was inadequate or not visible from your direction of travel.

No knowledge of the hazard: the occupier argues the hazard only came into existence moments before your accident and they had no reasonable opportunity to deal with it. Cleaning and inspection records, and CCTV footage showing when the hazard appeared, are often decisive here.

Reasonable system of inspection: the occupier can show it had a documented cleaning and inspection regime and that regime was followed. The adequacy of the regime (how frequently inspections occurred, whether they were recorded) is scrutinised carefully.

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Evidence to gather

The same principles apply whether your accident was in a supermarket, a restaurant or a car park.

• Photograph the hazard immediately, including any warning signs or the absence of them. Use an object of known size to show scale.
• Report the accident to the manager on duty and ask for it to be recorded in the accident book. Take a photograph of the entry or ask for a copy.
• Request CCTV preservation at the time. Footage is typically overwritten after 28 to 31 days. Once a solicitor is instructed they can send a formal preservation letter, but the sooner this happens the better.
• See a doctor or attend A&E as soon as possible. A contemporaneous medical record showing the date of the injury and its cause is important evidence.
• Note witness details if anyone saw what happened.
• Keep the footwear you were wearing.

If a goodwill payment is offered by the business or its insurer, do not accept it or sign anything without speaking to a solicitor first. Early settlement offers are typically well below the full value of a claim, and accepting one ends your right to claim further compensation.

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How much compensation can you claim?

Public liability compensation is calculated in the same way as any personal injury claim: general damages for your pain, suffering and loss of amenity, plus special damages for your financial losses.

The amounts depend on the nature and severity of your injury. As a guide:

Injury	Typical general damages range
Minor soft tissue (full recovery within 3 months)	£1,000 to £3,710
Moderate soft tissue (3 to 12 months)	£3,710 to £9,500
Wrist fracture (moderate)	£7,430 to £22,430
Ankle fracture (moderate)	£26,590 to £46,980
Knee injury (moderate)	£14,840 to £30,580
Hip fracture (significant)	£26,590 to £55,930

Special damages for lost earnings, care costs, medical expenses and travel can significantly increase the total.

For a full breakdown of compensation ranges by injury type, see our guide: Slip and fall compensation amounts

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Time limits

You have three years from the date of the accident to bring a public liability claim. This applies whether the defendant is a supermarket, a restaurant, a leisure centre or a local authority.

The three-year rule is set by the Limitation Act 1980 and is applied strictly. If you are nearing the limit, contact a solicitor immediately rather than assuming it is too late.

For children injured in a public place, the three-year period does not start until their 18th birthday.

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No win no fee public liability claims

Edward & Amaury Solicitors handle all public liability claims on a no win no fee basis. This means:

• You pay nothing if the claim fails.
• If the claim succeeds, our fee is capped at 25% of your compensation.
• After the event insurance is arranged to protect against the other side's legal costs in the event of a loss. The premium is only payable on success.

For a full explanation of how no win no fee works, see: What is no win no fee

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How to start your claim

Edward & Amaury Solicitors handle public liability injury claims across England and Wales. Whether you were injured in a supermarket, a restaurant, a car park or a public building, we can assess your claim at no cost.

Contact us for a free claim assessment

Call us or fill in our contact form. One of our solicitors will review your situation, advise on liability and the likely value of your claim, and explain the next steps clearly. There is no obligation and no upfront cost.

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Summary

• Public liability law (Occupiers' Liability Act 1957) requires businesses and organisations to take reasonable care of visitors on their premises.
• Claims can be brought against supermarkets, shops, restaurants, leisure centres, hotels, car parks and public buildings.
• Pavement injuries involve the local highway authority and the Highways Act 1980 instead.
• You need to prove that a hazard existed, the occupier failed to deal with it, and that failure caused your injury.
• Gather evidence quickly: photographs, accident book entry, CCTV preservation, medical records.
• Do not accept a goodwill payment without legal advice.
• You have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim.
• Edward & Amaury Solicitors offer a free assessment and act on a no win no fee basis.

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Edward & Amaury Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This article provides general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice on any specific case.