Many people in Australia don't realise that they can make a compensation claim for injuries sustained from a tripping and slipping accident in a public or private place. Provided that a person, company, authority or even the government have been negligent then they can be held legally liable for paying compensation for personal injury in a trip, slip or fall claim :-
As an example, you may have slipped on a polished, wet or greasy floor of a restaurant, shop or factory whereby the defendant failed in the common law duty of care to ensure the safety of others. In this situation if you have been injured in a tripping or slipping accident an injury compensation lawyer can claim damages for injury and loss on your behalf.
It may even be possible for a compensation lawyer to make a trip, slip or fall claim as a result of a tripping and slipping accident on open land away from buildings, pavements or highways. There is a duty placed on the occupier of all land in Australia including recreational parks, sports facilities, building sites, open car parks and even waste land to ensure that the public is safe.
Most trip, slip or fall claim settlements originate on the public highways, roads and pavements and the main tripping and slipping accident legislation basically says that there is an absolute duty to maintain the highways, roads and pavements at public expense. The courts have determined that the relevant authority has the responsibility of properly maintaining the public highways, roads and pavements in order to protect people from the risk of a tripping and slipping accident which can be expressed as follows :-
"The duty at common law to maintain, which includes a duty to repair a highway, was not based in negligence but in nuisance. It was an absolute duty to maintain, not merely a duty to take reasonable care to maintain and a statutory duty which replaced it will also be absolute."
The burden of proof in a trip, slip or fall claim for compensation for personal injury lies with the claimant who has to show on the “balance of probabilities” that there was a risk of injury. The court will not award compensation if the place was found to be reasonably in order and that the accident was a rare or isolated incident. However, if the area is in a dangerous condition and the risk of injury was high, the fact that the relevant authority neglected to correct the risk by repair or maintenance makes them responsible.
In general terms the courts in Australia will not hold the defendant liable if they took good precautions and had a regime of regular inspections and timely repairs which indicate that they were doing their best to prevent injuries.
Trip slip and fall compensation claims can be dealt with by our specialist personal injury solicitors. Our trip slip fall solicitors operate the no win no fee scheme and if you instruct our compensation lawyers to deal with your claim you will be certain that you are receiving high quality legal representation. To contact our advocates just use the helpline or complete the contact form or email our offices in Sydney.
LAWYER HELPLINE: ☎ 1800 339 958The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here