Advice On Claiming Compensation For An Accident In A Shop

By Jo Martinez. Last Updated 23rd June 2023. Have you been injured in an accident in a shop that was not your fault? Then you could be entitled to make a claim for shop injury compensation if your injuries were because of negligence. Whether you were a customer, employee, contractor, or another stakeholder in the business, if your injury was caused by negligence on the part of the business or business management, you could be entitled to claim compensation for a shop injury.

Call us today on 0161 696 9685 today to make your claim. If have suffered an injury in a shop that was not your fault, we would love to represent your compensation claim. Our friendly advisors are ready to take your call, we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

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A Guide To How To Get Compensation After An Accident In A Shop

Shops in Britain are responsible for creating a safe and hygienic environment for their customers, employees and other people who use the premises, such as delivery people or contractors. If someone is injured or made ill because of an accident in a shop, which was caused by the shop’s management or staff neglecting proper standards of health and safety, then the injured person could be entitled to claim compensation for their injuries.

accident in a shop

Accident in a shop

In this guide, we will look at reasons why people experience accidents in shops and what sort of injuries this can cause. We will also guide you through what to do if you are injured in a store in Great Britain, reporting an accident in a shop and how to hire a personal injury lawyer to help you make your claim. We also have a personal injury claims calculator, to help you estimate how much compensation you could be entitled to claim.

What Are Accidents In A Shop?

A range of accidents can happen in a shop. Accidents that can cause customers an injury in a shop can include: slip trip and fall accidents, storage, racking, shelving and display item accidents where shelves can become loose and fall onto customers. Injuries that can also affect employees include manual handling accidents and forklift accidents in warehousing areas. Accidents can also happen on staircases, in lifts or escalators if they are not properly maintained. If you had an accident in a shop resembling any of the accidents described above, you could be entitled to claim compensation for your accident.

Different Locations Shop Accidents Can Happen In

What sorts of shops can accidents happen in? An accident caused by negligence can happen in any kind of shop. No matter what sort of goods the shop may sell, they often have similar hazards to worry about. This can include wet or soiled floors that can cause slip trip or fall accidents, storage and racking that can fall on top of people or hazards that can lead to manual handling injuries. Legal Helpline works with shop injury claims lawyers who have experience handling shop injury compensation claims for the following types of accidents in shops:

  • DIY shop accidents and injuries
  • Garden centre accidents and injuries
  • Shopping centre accidents and injuries
  • Shopping mall accidents and injuries
  • Clothes shop accidents and injuries
  • Accidents in a chemists and injuries
  • Pet shop accidents and injuries
  • Furniture shop accidents and injuries
  • Hardware shop accidents and injuries
  • Shoe shop accidents and injuries
  • Supermarket accidents and injuries
  • Food shop accidents and injuries
  • Off licence shop accidents and injuries
  • Perfume shop accidents and injuries
  • Book shop accidents and injuries

No matter what sort of shop you experienced an accident in, you could be entitled to claim shopping accident compensation. Clients often ask us, “What should I do if I am injured in a supermarket or shop accident?”

If you are injured in a supermarket, or injured in a shop, the first step you should take is calling Legal Helpline. If you have legitimate grounds to claim, we will provide you with an excellent personal injury solicitor to help you make your claim.

What Liability Do Shops And Shop Owners Have For Their Customers Safety?

According to the Occupiers Liability Act of 1957, an occupier (proprietor or management) of a premises is responsible for taking every reasonable measure to ensure that the shop is a healthy and hygienic space for all visitors. This includes customers, staff, contractors such as people hired to do window displays and other visitors such as delivery people. Shop proprietors have a responsibility to conduct regular risk assessments to identify hazards that could pose a risk to people’s health or safety, and put control measures in place to remove or mitigate that risk. If the occupier negligence to remove a health and safety hazard (for example, not fixing a broken floorboard which is a trip hazard) then they could be held liable for any injuries the hazard causes. In which case, they could have to pay compensation to the person who experienced the injury in the shop.

Is The Shop Always Responsible And Liable For My Injuries?

In some cases you may have experienced an accident in a shop, which was caused by a third party that was not the shop’s management. For example, you may be hurt in a storage and racking accident where part of a shop display came loose from the wall and hurt you. If a third party contractor was hired to provide and install the display then they could be held liable for your injuries instead.

If the accident was not caused by the negligence of a third party and was a freak accident, or caused by the person injured, or person responsible for the person who was injured (such as the parent of a young child) then they will not be able to claim compensation.

What To Do If You Are Injured In A Shop?

Please note, if you injured in a store, your priority should be seeking the appropriate medical care, especially if your injuries are serious.

Many of our customers ask us “What should I do if I am injured in a supermarket or shop accident?” If you are injured in a shop, there are things that you can do at the scene of the accident to gather evidence to support your claim at a later date.

  • Take photographs of the accident site. You can also take photographs of your injuries. Include a date stamp if possible.
  • Collect the contact details of witnesses who may be required to give evidence to support your claim.
  • Ask for a copy of the video surveillance footage if it is available.
  • Report the accident to the store’s management. Ensure that the accident is recorded accurately in the accident log book.
  • Go to a doctor at the earliest convenience for your medical assessment. As a result, your doctor will produce a medical report, which your personal injury solicitor will use to value your shopping accident compensation claim.

If you were injured in store and want to make a claim against a supermarket or a claim for a slip and fall compensation amount, call Legal Helpline today for help making your shop injury compensation.

How Long Do I Have To Claim After An Accident In A Shop?

If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim, you will typically have a set amount of time to do so. Under the Limitation Act 1980, you would usually have three years from the date of the accident to begin your claim.

However, there are some exceptions to this 3-year time limit. If the injured party is under 18 at the time of an accident in a shop, the limitation period would be paused until they turn 18. Once they turn 18, they would have until their 21st birthday to start a claim.

However, before their 18th birthday arrives, a court-appointed litigation friend could start a claim on their behalf. A litigation friend is a person who is able to act in the child’s best interests and make decisions on their behalf. This could be a legal guardian, parent or solicitor, for example.

To learn about the other exceptions to this 3-year time limit, or for further advice on starting an accident in a shop claim, you can contact our advisors.

Can You Claim For Compensation For Your Accident In A Shop?

If you were injured in an accident in a shop that was not your fault, call Legal Helpline today to see if you are entitled to claim compensation.

As we have already explained, under The Occupiers Act of 1957, shopkeepers are responsible for observing correct health and safety regulations to ensure that their shop remains a safe and hygienic environment. If they neglect their “duty of care” and a member of the public is injured as a result of their negligence, then you could be entitled to claim supermarket accident compensation or shop injury compensation.

Take advantage of your free legal consultation today. If you have legitimate grounds to claim, one of our friendly advisors will let you know how much compensation you could claim and provide you with an excellent personal injury solicitor to help you make your claim.

What Could My Shop Accident Claim Include?

If you experience an accident in a shop that was not your fault, which caused you to become injured or ill, you could claim compensation for your injuries. Your personal injury compensation will include general damages and special damages. General damages are the largest part of your compensation package. They serve the purpose of compensating you for your pain and suffering caused by your injuries. You will also receive special damages. Special damages serve the purpose of reimbursing you for any expenses you might experience as a result of your injuries. We will look at what these expenses could be, in more detail below.

Examples of special damages that may be included in a shopping accident compensation claim include:

  • Travel expenses: This can include travel to the hospital after you were injured, travel to and from the hospital or doctor’s appointments and alternative transport you had to seek, if your injuries left you unable to drive.
  • Loss of income: If your injuries resulted in you being unable to work for a period of time, you can claim for loss of income. This can include salary, bonus, special benefits and sick pay. You can also claim for loss of future income if you missed out on pension payments.
  • Medical expenses: This can include the cost of immediate medical treatment and any future medical treatment you may need. You can also include the cost of medicines, physiotherapy and any psychological help you may need such as counselling.
  • Care expenses: If you were cared for at home by a friend or relative when you were recovering from your injuries, you can claim compensation for that person to compensate them for their time.
  • Mobility and home adaptation expenses: In extreme circumstances when your injuries result in a permanent disability, you can claim expenses for any home adaptations or mobility equipment you may need.

Accident In A Shop Compensation Payouts For 2022

As we mentioned earlier, if you are injured, your compensation for an accident in a shop can be split into two heads: general damages, and special damages. General damages refer to the head of your claim that aims to compensate you for your pain and suffering. Because of this, we cannot provide an average payout for accident in a shop compensation claims, due to the unique nature of each claim.

However, the 2022 edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can give you an idea of what you could receive if your claim succeeds. The JCG is a document used by legal professionals to help assign value to personal injury claims by providing guideline compensation amounts, as demonstrated in the table below.

Injury TypeCompensation BracketNotes
Moderate Ankle Injuries (c)£13,740 to £26,590Fractures and ligamentous tears leading to disability.
Less Serious Leg Injuries (c) (iii)Up to £11,840
Simple tibia or fibula fractures
Serious Toe Injuries (d)£9,600 to £13,740Crush fractures to two or more toes.
Fracture of Index Finger (j)£9,110 to £12,240A fully recovered fracture with remaining impairment of grip.
Forearm Fractures (d)£6,610 to £19,200Simple fractures of the forearm.
Fracture of Clavicle (e)£5,150 to £12,240Fractured clavicle with consideration given to injury severity and length of recovery.
Minor Eye Injuries (h)£3,950 to £8,730Minor injuries, such as being struck in the eye.
Less Severe PTSD (d)£3,950 to £8,180A full recovery within one to two years.
Minor Head Injury (e)£2,210 to £12,770Minimal brain damage.
Less Severe Psychiatric Damage (d)£1,540 to £5,860Consideration given to length of disability and sleep disturbance.

To learn more about how to make a public liability claim, contact us today. Our team of expert advisors can offer free legal advice, along with a free estimation of what your claim could be worth.

No Win No Fee Shop Accident And Injury Claims

At Legal Helpline, we understand that being injured in an accident in a shop that was not your fault can be a stressful and upsetting ordeal. What’s more, if your injuries have left you unable to work for a period of time, then you may also have some financial worries. Therefore making a personal injury claim can be a stressful experience, as you are not always guaranteed to win your claim. Therefore you may be reluctant to pay an upfront fee, or not be able to afford the solicitor’s fees at the present time. That’s why we offer the option to make a no win no fee claim.

At Legal Helpline we offer a Conditional Fee Arrangements (CFA’s), commonly known as a no win no fee service, to all our clients looking to claim compensation for an accident in a shop. No win no fee means that you do not have to pay an upfront fee, so it’s often a much better option. Instead, you will only have to pay if you win, and your solicitor’s fee will come out of your final compensation award. For many of our clients looking to claim compensation for a shop injury, a no win no fee claim is the less stressful and more affordable way to claim. To enquire about making a no win no fee compensation claim, call Legal Helpline today.

Why Choose To Make A Claim with Legal Helpline?

Legal Helpline is a Claims Management Company by personal injury law experts. We offer free legal consultations where we will assess whether or not potential clients have a legitimate case for claiming compensation. If you have a claim one of our expert personal injury solicitors will be assigned to your case.

Our panel of personal injury claims solicitors have up to three decades of experience helping clients like you claim compensation for accidents in shops, so if you think that you could be owed compensation, don’t hesitate to call us today.

Contact Legal Helpline Today

If you have suffered a slip, trip or fall injury in a shop, a manual handling injury in a shop, a storage and racking injury in a shop, or any other sort of injury in a shop, caused by negligence on the part of the proprietors then you could be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries. Call Legal Helpline for free today to begin your claims process, we’re looking forward to working with you. Alternatively fill out our online claims form, and we will respond to you as early as possible.

Useful Links

Slip, Trip Or Fall Injury Claims

A guide to claiming compensation for injuries suffered due to a slip, trip or fall accident.

How Much Compensation Can I Claim For An Accident At Work?

A guide to claiming compensation for injuries suffered due to an accident at work, caused by negligence on the part of your employer.

Compensation For Stitches (Per Stitch)

Your settlement could vary depending on how many stitches you require.

Do I Keep 100% Of My No Win No Fee Compensation?

Find out by reading this article.

Can You Claim For Getting Stuck In A Lift?

Read this guide to find out.

Read our guide to find out if you could claim if you were injured because you trapped your finger in a door and learn more about the claims process.