Public Place Accident Lawyers

When injured in a public place there is a lot going on — you may be seriously hurt and you will likely be dealing with the fallout of your injuries. 

Often the last thing on your mind is to report your accident, but the sooner you do this the better. If you are helping someone who is an injured person, make sure you take care of reporting this accident on their behalf, with their consent.

• The first thing you will need to do is contact management of the venue or location you are at, if possible, to report the accident - in writing - and to get a copy of the accident report.
• Provide as much detail as possible in your statement and ensure you make a note of the accident for yourself as close to the time that the accident occurred.
• Get witness details if you can, so that you can get verification of your accident down the line.

When you make a claim for compensation for a public place injury, the public place’s insurer will respond to the claim on the business’s behalf.  

• You may have heard of public liability insurance - or even had to get public liability insurance for an event or work function.
• This insurance exists to ensure that if anyone is injured in a public place that their injuries will be covered by this insurance.

You will need to provide evidence of your injury, the way in which it happened, and how the occupier of the public place caused or contributed to your injury. This will require you to secure medical evidence about your injury, as well as medical reports about the potential future impact of your injury. 

You will require statements from witnesses, security camera footage, shift reports from the public place venue and any other relevant material about why your accident happened. You may also need to secure expert reports from people who can advise on liability aspects of your case.

Supermarket slips and falls are common due to spillages or dropped products such as grapes on the floor. You may be able to seek compensation for slipping in a supermarket if the retailer was negligent in it’s reasonable duty to provide a safe space to shop.

Example 1: Rob is walking down an aisle of the supermarket and fails to notice a child being pushed in a trolley throwing a half eaten yogurt pouch out of the trolley. A matter of seconds later, Rob slips on the messy yogurt pouch and injures his back. In this situation it is possible the supermarket was not at fault as Rob was not paying attention and the hazard had only been in place for a few seconds before the incident.

Example 2: Tina is walking in the fruit aisle where a staff member is unloading pallets of fruit and vegetables onto the shelves. The staff member has been there for over half an hour and failed to pick up fallen produce from the trolley despite a few customers raising the issue. Tina slips and injures her pelvis on crushed fruit on the ground. As the issue had been raised with the retailer and no action taken, it’s possible that negligence contributed to this incident.

Public liability insurance is an insurance policy that protects the insured party in the event of a public liability claim.

If you own or manage private premises, whether it be a home or business, then you are likely to need public liability cover (or public liability insurance). You may not think that there will be a problem and you may not even think that people will make claims against you, but the reality is that most accidents do happen unexpectedly. You don't want to be caught out or left vulnerable because you didn't have adequate public liability insurance cover in place.

Public liability insurance covers claims made by members of the public for injuries suffered at an insurance policy holder's premises or on their property.

Yes, generally speaking, businesses and organisations such as restaurants, bars, supermarkets, retail stores, shopping malls and hotels all have an obligation to provide a safe environment as far as is reasonably possible.

If a business or organisation is shown to be negligent in it’s expected duty of care and an injury occurs as a result of that negligence, then a public liability claim may be possible. In these situations, a personal injury law firm such as ourselves will run the case for the injured party and negotiate with the negligent parties public liability insurance company for a settlement to help cover loss of income, medical costs and so on.

1: Report it: It’s crucial to report the accident as soon as practically possible to the venue or organisation responsible for the location in which the accident happened. Try to speak to a manager and get a report in writing if possible.

Reporting it to an organisation will help ensure they keep key details including CCTV footage if available and records of staff at the scene.

2: Seek medical advice: If you’ve been injured then get the medical checks and treatment you require as soon as possible.
3: Seek legal advice: Have a free chat with our Brisbane based accident lawyers about your specific situation to see if you may have a claim. There is no cost or obligation to check if your injuries may qualify for a claim. If your claim is suitable and you become a client, we then lodge a claim with the relevant public liability insurer and gather the required evidence to start the legal compensation process.

Potentially you can sue a council for tripping on a footpath (or nature strip) if the council is negligent by not maintaining paths or not warning of a dangerous condition.

This would depend on proving that it was the council's fault and the extent of your injuries (such as a broken ankle or a foot injury). As trips and falls can be caused by many reasons then the circumstances would need to be reviewed. It's also not possible for councils to keep all footpaths in perfect condition so, it would also depend on factors such as the severity of the fault and whether Council were previously aware of the fault.

Many footpath injuries are down to human error factors such as not paying due care and attention, rushing, mis-stepping, untied shoelaces, weather and other factors outside of council control.

If you are injured by a premises user or an employee of the owner, then public liability insurance may be able to help you if the force used is deemed unreasonable.

Bouncers at venues such as nightclubs and security guards at bars, casino's, hotels, retail stores and malls are tasked with keeping patrons as safe as possible. At times, it may be deemed reasonable for them to physically restrain a patron who is causing potential harm to other guests and refusing to leave or take the requested actions from security staff.

However, there are cases where excessive force is used which results in income impacting injuries such as nerve damage to the wrist or shoulder injuries due to over extension. If you believe you have been victim to this then please start a chat or contact us to see if you may have a claim.

Common hotel injuries include falls in the hotel room, slips on wet floors in public areas of the hotel, swimming pool accidents or being burned by hot drinks served at a cafe or restaurant.

Accidents that are caused by faulty equipment are also likely to be covered under public liability insurance.

For there to be a compensation claim for an injury incurred at a Queensland hotel or resort, the venue's negligence would have needed to have caused or significantly contributed to the accident.

As an example, let’s say an injury occurred after someone got out of the bath and slipped on a wet floor. This is something that always incurs a natural level of risk whether you are getting out of a bath at home or staying somewhere. Two scenarios are shown below.

Scenario A: The hotel has suitable tiles and provides a floor towel for guests to place on the floor by the shower or bath to prevent falls. The hotel guest didn’t use the floor towel and had splashed soapy water onto the floor while in the bath drinking a bottle of wine. On attempting to get out of the bath, the guest slips on the soapy wet floor and suffers an injury. In this case, it is likely the guest may be considered at-fault and the hotel was not negligent.

Scenario B: Hotel had used tiles unsuitable for bathroom use that were very slippery and had failed to provide any warning or bath mat/towel. Previously slippages had been reported and noted in online hotel reviews. In this scenario, there could be an argument of negligence on behalf of the hotel.

In order to make an injury compensation claim for a dog attack in Brisbane or Queensland, the dog needs to have been deemed a "potentially dangerous dog" by the local council.

If a dog is deemed a potentially dangerous dog then it is possible that the owner will need to hold public liability insurance which covers instances of personal injury or property damage caused by that animal. They also have increased responsibilities to restrain their animal and ensure it doesn't escape or is let loose outside of its registered home property.

Becoming a registered potential dangerous dog typically happens if they have been involved in a reported similar attack previously.

Murphy's Law Accident Lawyers may be able to assist with injuries (to people) by dogs that are registered as potentially dangerous.

We are unable to assist with compensation for vet bills if your dog was injured by another dog. You can try to request this from the owner and if they refuse, QCAT (Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal) can be used to dispute the vet bill debt.

If you have been injured at a rental property then you may be entitled to a compensation claim if the landlord or property agent was at fault.

Homes are the scene of many accidents such as falling off ladders, electrocution, burns, cuts to the hand or fingers from knives or saws and falls down stairs. However, most of these would not be the fault of a landlord and therefore not covered by the landlord or property managers public liability insurance.

However, landlords do have a responsibility to ensure a property meets required standards and is generally fit for habitation.

The RTA (Rental Tenancies Authority) can be a good first step for information and reporting issues if not dealt with as you hoped when contacting your landlord or agent. 

Tip: Always try to report in writing (even if following up with a call) to keep a record of what has been requested and said.

Therefore, a possible claim may be more likely in situations of possible negligence such as:

• Reported safety related issues not being rectified in a reasonable timeframe
• Building work not being at required standards - for example, a new staircase from a back deck in which the stairs are notably uneven or don’t meet building code standards.

While agents and/or landlords are expected to inspect a property from time to time, issues are likely to arrive that they can’t always be expected to know or predict if not informed. A free chat with our team can help determine if your injury relates to landlord negligence or not.

Some of the most common public place injuries include:

• Sprained wrists and twisted ankles - these can happen anywhere and are common in shopping centre injury compensation claims
• Grazes and abrasions - often a product of slipping and falling, grazes and cuts can range of mild to severe and often require medical attention
• Back injuries - which can be an associated injury concurrent with a fall
• Broken bones - serious falls or accidents will result in broken bones and associated injuries
• General slips, trips, and falls - although relatively common, they can be serious and have serious consequences
• Head injuries - if you fall and strike your head on the pavement or a surface this can be a serious injury resulting in concussion or even head trauma and brain injury

If you have been bitten by someone’s dog this can also be classified as a public place injury, as can food poisoning sustained by dining at a restaurant.

Yes. You have three years from the date your injury took place in which to claim compensation for an accident or incident that occurs in a public place.

You will also need to notify the at-fault party (the party responsible for the public place) within nine months of your injury, or within one month of consulting with a personal injury lawyer - whichever comes first.
There are some exceptions including for those aged 18 or under at the time of the claim. Our time limits FAQ page has further information regarding this.

When injured as a result of someone else’s negligence in a public place you will be able to make a claim for loss and damage suffered.

This claim process includes calculation of:

• Medical and hospital expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Care provided by other people
• Ongoing treatment and healthcare (including physiotherapy and allied health services)
• Rehabilitation
• Loss of enjoyment
• Future home modifications
• Loss of earnings both present and future

The final sum may be significant depending on the level of injury suffered and the level of care and medical treatment required. 
If your earning capacity has been affected as a result of your injuries, the amount of compensation payable will also depend on how much money you were earning at the time of the accident, and how much money you are able to earn after the accident. Our Brisbane accident lawyers can provide free initial advice in more detail as required.