Accident in a public place
If you have been unfortunate enough to have been injured when out and about in a public place, what can you do about it?
Maybe you’ve slipped or tripped, maybe you have been hit by something which has fallen from above or you have walked into something which shouldn’t have been there. Maybe it was in a supermarket, shop or restaurant. Maybe it was on a path or pavement next to a road. Whatever the circumstances, you have somehow found yourself injured, in pain and certainly inconvenienced.
It is important that you or someone who witnessed the incident report what has happened to whoever is in charge of safety, wherever the accident took place, and as soon as possible. That might be the shop owner, hotel manager or your local council if it happened on the street.
It is important that any other witnesses are recorded so that they can be interviewed to gain a better understanding of what happened. If it is possible, take photographs – they become hugely useful as evidence in the future. Beyond finding out what actually happened, all this information forms the evidence to decide whether what has happened to you was caused by the negligence of someone else. If there was a known fault, then the situation should have been avoided and you would not have been injured.
You will, of course, need to seek medical attention so that your injuries can be attended to and assessed. The earlier you contact us, the more chance we have of finding out exactly what caused the accident and whether someone was negligent.
It is important to understand that accidents of this nature in legal terms fall into two categories.
Accidents which occur on the street, road or on public land are generally defined as a Public Liability claim, as the case will be brought against the Local Authority or Local Council.
Accidents which happen in shops, supermarkets, cinemas, stadiums, anywhere where the land is privately owned or run are defined as an Occupier’s Liability claim because you will most likely be claiming against a private business or individual who should have insurance for this eventuality.
No win no fee personal injury solicitors
The expression “No Win – No Fee” is often used in personal injury cases. It is used as a way of funding a compensation claim where the accident victim does not have the means to pay for the costs involved as the case progresses.
A number of solicitors are prepared to handle personal injury cases on a “No Win – No Fee” basis but very few are able to offer their clients complete protection if the case is unsuccessful.
In that event, the client could end up being liable for many thousands of pounds in legal expenses or the case won't be fully investigated and therefore likely to under-settle.
Compensate 'no win no fee' funding
Digby Brown has its own funding company, Compensate, which provides the funding to allow the case to be fully investigated, employ the best experts surrounding the circumstances of the accident and/or injuries sustained and where and if necessary go to court.
If for whatever reason the case is unsuccessful, Compensate pays all your legal expenses and those of your opponent – you pay nothing.
On average our clients receive over 3 times the pre-litigation offer
Because of Compensate funding Digby Brown's success rate is extremely high and on average our clients receive three times the pre-litigation offer.
In the event the case is successful, a small percentage of your damages will be deducted with VAT to pay for this service. The percentage which Compensate will charge depends on the degree of risk involved. We believe that this is the fairest method of giving clients access to justice whilst ensuring their cases are fully investigated, prepared and funded.
Don’t take our word for it, just read many of the court decisions and case studies on our website, or watch Joanne's story.
Beware of compensation offers which may be too good
We know you will have seen many adverts offering 100% compensation or telling you that you will not lose any of your compensation, however we believe there are a number of problems with companies that do this.
- How do they make their money if they don’t charge you anything?
- If they aren’t taking any money from you, the client, what incentive do they have to ensure you receive the right level of compensation, appropriate to the injuries you have sustained?
- Fully preparing a case, finding out exactly what happened and what the consequences of your injuries may mean in the long term, is expensive, how do they do this properly?
- If they aren’t fully preparing these cases will they just accept the first offer they are given on your behalf by the Insurance company?
- It makes simple business sense, the less work they do the higher their profit margin is - they simply have no incentive to work harder on your behalf.
- These adverts in the main are from English firms on national television which operates in a different way and therefore wouldn’t apply to a Scottish person.
We know from the many client cases we mandate from other firms of solicitors (in the main at the request of the client who is extremely unsatisfied with the service received for the other firm) that many shortcuts are taken in preparation and that the first offer received is being recommended for acceptance, regardless of the value.
Getting something for nothing is usually the first sign of poor service.
Correct level of compensation with Digby Brown
Our experience and statistics show time and time again we will achieve the correct level of compensation which will be substantially more than the insurer is initially prepared to offer.
Even after we have deducted our percentage as a success fee you will gain considerably more than you would have achieved using a 100% compensation model.
Contact Digby Brown's personal injury solicitors
We have offices across Scotland in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Aberdeen and Ayr.
For further information about no win no fee, or anything else, call us on 0333 200 5925 or fill in our enquiry form below and someone will get back in touch with you.
Why is this important to know?
In terms of seeking help from Digby Brown whether your accident is classed as Public or Occupier’s Liability doesn’t actually matter, simply call us or fill in an enquiry form.
It does, however, make a difference in terms of what is deemed negligent by the organisation in charge of your health and safety when under their care. To help better understand the difference in this section of the website we have created two separate pages for Public Liability and Occupier’s Liability.
In the simplest terms if you were on someone’s premises please look at the Occupier’s Liability page and for anything under an Authority or Council control, it’s Public Liability. There are always exceptions, for example a School or a Hospital and these could come under either category depending where or how these organisations are managed.
We’ve given a couple of examples below of how we have helped people in these different situations. The end result was the same, after they came to Digby Brown we helped them receive fair compensation for the injuries and inconvenience they sustained…
Our client tripped on a path while walking her children home from school. Our solicitors took on her claim against the council to seek compensation for her injury.
Mrs Cameron slipped on wet tiles when leaving a store and broke her hip. Our Ayr solicitors took on her case were able to secure over £35,000 for her injuries.
Whichever the case Digby Brown are here to help and if you are at all unsure simply call us, explain what happened and we’ll take care of the rest. We are open seven days a week 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 12 noon to 4pm at the weekends.
0333 200 5926
Monday to Friday: 8am - 8pm
Saturday and Sunday: 12pm - 4pm
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