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It is important to point out that just because you trip up in the street or in a car park, this does not automatically mean that you will succeed in a claim for injuries, or receive compensation for slips, trips or falls from the local highway authority (or the owner of the property if its not the local authority).
Generally the roads and pavements around the UK are maintained by your local highways authority - part of your local council. They have a responsibility to ensure that the highways (both roads and pavements) are properly maintained in a reasonable condition. In reality this means that they must have a system of regular inspection and maintenance in place if they are to avoid being liable for any accidents and injuries resulting from defects in the highways. So, for example, they are not liable as soon as a defect in the pavement occurs, but only if they fail to repair it within a reasonable time once it has been reported, or when it should have been discovered through a reasonable maintenance regime. Records must be kept of such maintenance and are available for inspection.
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The question then becomes "what is a reasonable condition?" It is unfortunately a matter of degree, and each case will turn on its specific facts - eg weather, lighting, age of those involved, nature of the defect, warning signs or lack of them, and whether the person concerned contributed to the incident.
Generally the busier the road or pavement the more resources should be committed to maintaining them in a reasonable condition. Paving will never be completely flat and pedestrians must do what they can to avoid obvious hazards.
If the problem was not a defect in the highway but some obstruction or work being carried out on the highway, then potential liability is likely to rest with the person or organisation that is carrying out the work or who caused the obstruction.
If injured in a tripping incident you should try and
make a note of where the incident occurred
take details of any witnesses to the incident
if possible take a photograph of the defect that caused the incident, with something to show a scale - such as a ruler, a coin or an object of a fixed size, or make a plan of the accident site
as soon as reasonably practical write down your version of how the incident occurred.
get a doctor to examine you even if the injuries are relatively minor
if the injuries are visible (bruising, cuts etc) try and get a photograph for later use
keep details of any clothing, glasses etc damaged in the incident
Armed with this information it is worth finding out if the circumstances would entitle you to make a claim - complete our free online accident assessment form and get a solicitor to review your case for free.
Bear in mind that if your injuries and losses are likely to be worth less than £1,000 in total you will be unlikely to recover the costs of employing a solicitor to pursue a claim on your behalf. This does not mean you do not have a claim, just that you will probably be better off pursuing it yourself. We are working on a new section which will give some guidance on just how to go about pursuing your own claim and will put a link here as soon as we can get the information on site. Persistence is usually the key.
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