SLIPS AND FALLS – PART 1
 
I slipped over in a shopping centre, can I make a claim?
 
You may be able to make a claim for compensation for injuries which you sustained from a slip and fall in a public place if the injuries were the result of negligence on the part of someone else.
 
You cannot make a personal injury claim if you have slipped and fallen and it was your own fault.  You have to be able to point to someone else as having caused or contributed to the injuries.
 
Things like carelessness, or failing to properly clear a walkway of hazards are examples of negligence.
 
Slips and falls can occur for a number of reasons.  It may be because of the floor surface being slippery or recently mopped, unsafe shoes, or spilt food/drink.  Here are a few of the most common ways that slips and falls occur:

• a freshly mopped floor
• drink/other liquid spills in a shopping centre
• fruit dropped in the fruit and vegetable area (grapes are a common one!)
• drink spills at restaurants/bars
• tiles or pavement outside in rainy weather

For most personal injury claims, a legal action must be commenced within 3 years of the date of the injury. If you miss this deadline, you will lose the right to claim compensation.
 
However, depending on where your injury occurred or who you are claiming against, specific pre-court procedures may apply which may have much shorter time limits. If you miss these time limits you may lose your right to claim unless you can provide good reason for delaying and why you should be allowed to proceed with your claim. 

If you have been injured in a road accident, at work, in a public or other place or whilst receiving medical treatment, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation, sometimes called “common law damages”.
​
You may also have life or other insurance, including through your superannuation fund.
There are strict time-limits which apply to all compensation law claims. We suggest you contact us at the earliest opportunity so that we can properly advise you on these.

Simon Turner is a practitioner with over forty years of experience in North Queensland. He has been a partner in a major city firm for the majority of that time and has been a Queensland Law Society accredited specialist in personal injuries for more than two decades.