By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 31st July 2023. This article contains information about claiming personal injury compensation after having slipped on water in a bathroom. By bathroom we mean a public toilet facility or maybe toilets provided in the workplace. Some of the topics it will cover include: injuries you might receive from slipping, who could be responsible, and how much compensation you may be able to claim.
Bathrooms can involve a fair amount of water, whether it be from a leaky appliance or a recent cleaning. A third party may have owed you a duty of care to take reasonable steps to remove the risks presented by wet floors, and this article will explain more about this.
Read on to learn more about what to do if you’ve slipped on water in a bathroom. Alternatively, our advisers can offer personalised advice about your specific circumstances. Contact us by:
- Calling us at 0800 073 8801
- Contacting us via the live chat feature below
- Filling in our online contact form with your query
Select A Section
- Can You Claim If You Slipped On Water In A Bathroom?
- What Injuries Can You Get From Slipping In Water?
- Are There Time Limits For Starting A Slip In A Bathroom Claim
- How To Claim After Slipping In A Bathroom
- What Could You Claim If You Slipped On Water In A Bathroom?
- Talk To Us If You Slipped On Water In A Bathroom
Can You Claim If You Slipped On Water In A Bathroom?
A personal injury claim hinges upon the concepts of duty of care and negligence. To receive compensation for injuries, you must be able to show they were sustained because someone who owed you a duty of care was negligent in their duty. When broken down, this means:
- Someone owed you a duty of care. This can be the person known as the ‘occupier’ of a building, premises, or outdoor space or your employer.
- That person failed to uphold their duty of care.
- Through this failure, you sustained harm in the form of an injury, either physical or emotional.
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 sets a legal obligation for occupiers to take reasonable practicable steps in order to keep the public safe when they use the premises for its intended purpose. This piece of legislation is what sets out the duty of care that occupiers have to members of the public.
In this, the ‘occupier’ is the person in control of space, and a ‘visitor’ is anyone using the space for its intended purpose. The occupier usually owes a duty of care to visitors and must therefore take reasonable steps to ensure their safety.
It’s important to note that if you slip in a toilet at work, you may still be able to claim compensation. The Health and Safety at Work etc. 1974 lays out the duty of care an employer owes to their employees, and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states the employer must carry out risk assessment checks and make reasonable changes to decrease identified risks.
To find out more about legislation that may apply to wet floor accident injury claims, contact our advisers today.
What Injuries Can You Get From Slipping In Water?
People often experience slips on floors that have been left wet after cleaning. Depending on how the person falls and whether or not there are objects nearby, someone could be injured quite badly. Injuries you could sustain if you slipped on water in a bathroom include:
- Fractured and broken bones, such as a broken wrist
- Strains and sprains, such as a sprained ankle
- A brain injury or head injury
- A dislocated shoulder
- Tendon or ligament injuries
For example, if you slipped on a wet floor while entering the stall of a bathroom, it’s conceivable that you could fall and hit your head against the toilet cistern. This could cause a head injury in addition to the injuries sustained while hitting the floor.
Are There Time Limits For Starting A Slip In A Bathroom Claim
If you slipped in a bathroom and injured yourself either at work, in a public place or in another situation where you were owed a duty of care you maybe thinking of making a personal injury claim. However, you must begin a claim before the time limits expire. The time limits are:
- 3 years after the accident
- 3 years after you knew or should reasonably have known the accident occurred due to negligence
There are some exceptions to these time limits. For example:
- For a child injury claim, their time limit is suspended until they turn 18, at which point the 3 year time limit wiyukd begin. Or a litigation friend can begin a claim on their behalf before they turn 18.
- If someone lacks the mental capacity to begin a claim, their time limit is suspended until they regain capacity, or a litigation friend begins a claim on their behalf.
If you’d like to know more about the time limits that may apply to your potential claim, contact our advisers today. They can tell you more detailed information about the personal injury compensation you could get from a bathroom slip and fall.
How To Claim After Slipping In A Bathroom
If you’ve had an accident in a bathroom and are eligible to claim compensation, collecting sufficient evidence could help support your case. Some examples of the evidence you could gather include:
- A copy of your medical records that state the type of injury you suffered and the treatment you received for it.
- Photographs of the accident scene and any visible injuries you suffered. For example, if there was no “wet-floor” sign in the bathroom to inform you of a spillage, you could take a photograph of the accident scene to prove this.
- Gather the contact details of anyone who may have witnessed the accident, as they could provide a statement at a later date.
- Evidence of any financial losses you have suffered due to your injuries, such as a copy of your bank statements or invoices.
Contact our advisors today to see if you could make a personal injury claim for your bathroom accident. If they think you have a strong case, they could connect you with one of our solicitors.
What Could You Claim If You Slipped On Water In A Bathroom?
You may be wondering, ‘what can I claim for slipping on a wet floor?’ If you personal injury claim is successful you could be awarded general damages and additionally special damages.
General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by your injury. The amount can vary depending on the severity of your injury and subsequent recuperation, so instead of including a personal injury calculator, we have pulled relevant figures from the Judicial College Guidelines.
This document contains compensation brackets that could be awarded for certain injuries. A personal injury solicitor will usually refer to this when assessing a claim. Below is a compensation table for personal injury claims:
| Injury Type | Compensation Bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate Brain Injury (c) (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | Moderate to severe intellectual impairment with a personality change and affect on senses. |
| Moderate Brain Injury (c) (iii) | £90,720 to £150,110 | Moderate to modest intellectual impairment and greatly reduced ability to work. Some risk of epilepsy. |
| Severe Back Injuries (a) (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Severe damage to the spinal cord and/or nerve roots. Severe pain and disability. |
| Severe Neck Injuries (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | Serious damage to cervical discs or fractures to spine. Results in permanent disabilities of a substantial nature. |
| Serious Damage to Both Hands (a) | £55,820 to £84,570 | Injury resuting in permanent disability of a cosmetic or functional nature. |
| Serious Hand Injuries (e) | £29,000 to £61,910 | Damage that reduces the hand’s function to about 50%. |
| Wrist Injuries (a) | £47,620 to £59,860 | Complete loss of function in the wrist. |
| Elbow Injuries (a) | £39,170 to £54,830 | A severely disabing elbow injury. |
| Severe Shoulder Injuries (a) | £19,200 to £48,030 | Injuries that may involve the neck and shoulder nerve network. Results in symptoms in the neck and/or arm. |
| Hernia (a) | £14,900 to £24,170 | Continual pain even after repair, with the addition of limitations on physical actitivies. |
Additionally, if you have suffered financial losses directly from your injury, you could recoup these costs through special damages. Special damages can include these kinds of expenses:
- Lost earnings
- Lost future earnings
- Travel expenses incurred travelling to and from injury-related appointments
Get in touch with our advisers to find out more about what compensation could be awarded if your claim is sucessful. They can answer accident claims questions you may have.
Talk To Us If You Slipped On Water In A Bathroom
If you’re thinking about claiming compensation after you slipped on water in a bathroom, you may also be thinking about the expense of hiring legal representation. Accident Claims could be able to help. If your potential claim is passed on to our solicitors, they may offer you a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under the terms of this agreement, you don’t have to pay for the services of a solicitor upfront or while the claim is ongoing. Instead, you only pay a percentage of your compensation amount if your claim is successful. This amount is capped by law.
To learn more about the personal injury compensation, you might receive after a slip and fall accident, get in touch with our team of advisers by:
- Calling us at 0800 073 8801
- Contacting us via the live chat feature below
- Filling in our online contact form with your query
Learn More About Slips, Trips And Fall Claims
More articles that may be of interest:
Racking or Shelving Accidents – Guide for claiming compensation after a racking or shelving accident
Faulty Automatic Door Claim – Article about making a personal injury claim following an injury from a fault automatic door
Further resources that may be useful:
Workplace Facilities – HSE information about proper workplace facilities
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) – Organisation that imparts the knowledge to live healthy lives free from serious accidents
Request CCTV Footage – Government information about requesting CCTV footage of yourself
We hope this guide on whether you can make a personal injury claim after you slipped on water in a bathroom has been useful to you. For more information, contact us using the information above.