Legal FAQs

Accidents in the Home

While many of you may be aware of the many problems associated with a number of so called Claims Farmers, the concept of No Win No Fee Personal Injury claims is still a very laudable one as confirmed by the TV celebrity Esther Rantzen in an article in The Guardian newspaper. "No-win no-fee was something we campaigned for on "That's Life"," she said. "I think there is a patronizing condescension from people who can afford high-price lawyers." She continued that there are many "vulnerable people who risk loss of livelihood, people who really do need this compensation and do deserve it and have been badly hurt". She concluded by saying that "There is a myth, the compensation-culture myth, but in fact in this country, with the stiff upper lip attitude towards life, there are millions of pounds of compensation going unclaimed," she said.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who have valid claims for compensation, but through a fear of the possible cost, or not knowing what to do, they end up doing nothing and the person or organization responsible for the accident gets away scot free.

One of the locations in which many accidents happen is not actually the street or the workplace, but it’s in your own home. While we are unlikely to consider claiming compensation from ourselves, or our family, there are an increasingly large number of instances where a visitor may not think twice about consulting his or her lawyer to sue you when they trip over your loose back door step.

The general rule is that the owner of the premises will be liable if they were negligent. Thus, if a slate falls off your roof and hits your neighbour’s car and you knew the slate was loose, or you had not inspected the roof for a long time, then you may be deemed to be liable. On the other hand, if the falling slate was the result of an unusually fierce storm you may not be liable. The same rules apply if you are a tenant and you are injured by something falling from the landlord's part of the building.

While the general rule is that the occupier is liable if he or she was negligent, the rules are less stringent in the case of uninvited guests such as burglars, squatters and other trespassers. It would be unfair to make the occupier liable for the actions of these trespassers and so the law provides that the occupier is not liable unless he or she was aware of the danger. For instance if a burglar electrocutes himself whilst making a cup of tea you are unlikely to be sued. However, even this rule is subject to exceptions;

For example, the occupier cannot avoid the liability if he deliberately lays traps that might injure a trespasser, or if he beats him with a golf club to within an inch of his life. This would not be classified as ‘reasonable force’.

Most homeowners have an insurance policy that provides cover for damage to the home by fire etc. In addition, this policy is likely to provide cover for liability arising from accidents caused by the defective state of the premises. You should check out whether or not you are covered.

Finally, if you or one of your family are involved in any kind of accident whether walking in the street, in a car, at work or even at home, you may be able to obtain a substantial amount of compensation and its may not cost you a penny. What you should do is consult a member of the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel of specialist solicitors - like Glaisyers, who also offer a No Win No Fee Arrangement. Remember our specialist team only deal with accident victims and we would be happy to discuss your potential claim at an initial free consultation.

Claire Burns - Personal Injury Partner

Member of the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel

Member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (Senior Litigator and Member of the Occupational Health Group)

Glaisyers solicitors

T: 0121 233 2971

E: claireburns@glaisyers.co.uk