Could I Claim For My Injuries When I Slipped On A Wet Floor?
By Jade Mooney. Last Updated 16th July 2024. This guide contains information about what to do if you are thinking of making a personal injury claim after you’ve slipped on a wet floor. In order to pursue a valid personal injury claim, you must have been owed a duty of care at the time of the incident. We explain more about where and when you are owed a duty of care and the personal injury claims process as we go through this guide.
The following sections contain information about who could claim for slipping on a wet floor, what injuries you could sustain, how slipping hazards should be removed or reduced, the compensation that could be awarded and how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you through the claims process.
Read on for more information about claiming compensation after you slipped on a wet floor. Alternatively, you can get in touch with our advisers to discuss the details of your potential claim. Get in touch with us by:
- Calling us at 020 3870 4868
- Contacting us via the live chat feature below
- Filling in our online contact form with your query
Select A Section
- Could I Claim If I Slipped On A Wet Floor?
- Preventing Slips And Falls On Wet Floors
- What Injuries Could You Suffer By Slipping On A Wet Floor?
- How Much Compensation Could I Receive For Slipping On A Wet Floor?
- Talk To Our Team If You Slipped On A Wet Floor
Could I Claim If I Slipped On A Wet Floor?
If you slip and fall in a work bathroom, supermarket aisle, or another public area, you may be wondering, ‘can I claim for slipping on a wet floor?’ The fact is that personal injury claims rely upon the concept of negligence.
To bring a successful personal injury claim, you must be able to show the following criteria are true of the circumstances surrounding your injury:
- You were owed a duty of care; employers, road users, occupiers of a public space, and medical professionals all owe a duty of care at certain times.
- This duty of care was breached, and
- As a result of their action or inaction, you sustained harm in the form of a physical or psychological injury.
Together, these three elements make up what is called negligence. If your claim demonstrates these criteria, you may be able to claim compensation for your injuries. Read on to learn more about legislation that is relevant to duty of care, or get in touch with our advisers to ask about your specific circumstances.
Preventing Slips And Falls On Wet Floors
Certain laws are in place to protect people in different situations. For example, The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies a duty of care on employers to ensure that they take reasonably practicable steps in keeping the work environment safe from avoidable accidents.
A similar piece of legislation, called The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, states that visitors are owed a duty of care when they are using a public space for its intended purpose. Those who control this space, known as the ‘occupiers’, must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of these visitors.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulatory body that governs workplace safety in Britain. It was set up to provide rules and guidance so that work-related illness, injury and death are prevented.
To learn more if you slipped on a wet floor at work or in a public place, contact our advisers. They can provide insight into the merits of your claim and offer advice about what to do next.
What Injuries Could You Suffer By Slipping On A Wet Floor?
Slipping on a wet floor can cause a number of injuries, ranging from severe to minor. But, as we talked about in the past section, you need to be able to prove that your accident and subsequent injuries were caused by someone else’s negligent actions.
Slipping on a spillage or a wet floor that wasn’t properly cleaned up or signposted could cause:
- Head injuries: If you were to slip on a wet floor and hit your head, this could have devastating consequences, including severe brain damage and paraplegia.
- Broken bones: Broken and fractured bones such as a broken knee could occur if you slipped on the floor. For example, you could break your wrist when putting out your hands to break your fall.
- Bruises, sprains, and lacerations: Hitting the floor after slipping can result in significant and painful bruising and could even cause cuts and lacerations. It could also cause soft tissue injuries, such as a sprained ankle.
These are only a few examples of how a slip, trip, or fall injury could occur. To learn more, get in touch with our team, or keep reading.
How Much Compensation Could I Receive For Slipping On A Wet Floor?
If you are successful with your slipped on a wet floor claim, there are up to two heads of claim which could potentially make up your compensation value. These heads of claim are general and special damages.
General damages will definitely be awarded if your claim is successful. Under this head of claim, you will be compensated for the physical and mental effects of your injuries that were caused by slipping on a wet floor.
Here are some factors that will affect a general damages value:
- How long your recovery is expected to be.
- How severe your pain is.
- Loss of amenity.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and medical reports from an independent assessment are two documents that can be used when the value of general damages is being determined.
The JCG is a document that contains all kinds of injuries and illnesses (both physical and mental), with accompanying guideline compensation brackets for each.
Compensation Table
In the table are some different injuries you could possibly suffer if you have slipped on a wet floor. Apart from the first row, all of these injuries and accompanying figures are from the JCG.
| Injury Type | Severity | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries And Special Damages | Serious | Up to £500,000+ |
| Knee | Severe (a) (i) | £85,100 to £117,410 |
| Moderate (b) (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 | |
| Ankle | Very severe (a) | £61,090 to £85,070 |
| Moderate (c) | £16,770 to £32,450 | |
| Wrist | Complete loss of function (a) | £58,110 to £73,050 |
| Less severe (c) | £15,370 to £29,900 | |
| Elbow | Severely disabling (a) | £47,810 to £66,920 |
| Less severe (b) | £19,100 to £39,070 |
Special Damages
Special damages might be awarded if your claim is successful. Under this head of claim, you will be compensated for the money you have spent or lost due to your injuries that were caused by slipping on a wet floor. This includes:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical expenses, such as prescriptions.
- Travel expenses incurred while travelling to and from medical appointments.
Special damages can only be reimbursed if you provide evidence of your financial losses. Evidence can be through receipts, bank statements, payslips, and invoices.
If you want to find out more about how much compensation for slipping on a wet floor you could possibly receive, have a free chat with us today.
Talk To Our Team If You Slipped On A Wet Floor
If you’re worried about the cost of hiring legal representation, we may be able to help. The solicitors on our panel may offer you a type of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Using this agreement, you won’t have to pay for a solicitor’s services up front or during the process of claiming. Instead, you will only pay a small percentage of your final compensation amount, and only if your claim is ultimately successful. This amount is capped by law.
To learn more about the steps you can take after you slipped on a wet floor, contact our team of advisers. You can get in touch by:
- Calling us at 020 3870 4868
- Contacting us via the live chat feature below
- Filling in our online contact form with your query
Wet Floor Accident And Injury Claim Resources
More guides that may be of interest:
- Time Limits – Guide containing information about time limits that may affect a personal injury claim
- Accident At Work – Information about your rights after an accident at work
- Negligence Compensation Claims – Further resources about compensation stemming from negligence
- Further resources that you may find useful:
- Civil Law – HSE summary of the way civil law allows a worker to make a compensation claim against negligent employers
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) – Organisation dedicated to imparting the knowledge required to prevent serious accidents
- Request CCTV Footage – Government information about requesting CCTV footage showing yourself
We hope you’ve found useful information in this article about claiming compensation if you slipped on a wet floor. If you have any more questions, contact us using the details above.
