A romantic meal or family get-together suddenly ruined by an accident is the last thing anyone wants. The inconvenience caused by the negligence of a restaurant can cause you months of disruption. If you’ve suffered an injury in a public place and would like to learn about personal injury compensation, this guide provides information about restaurant accident claims.
We explain what public liability claims are and who can make one against a negligent restaurant. We look at some examples of restaurant accidents and injuries and what sort of evidence can be gathered to support a claim for damages.
There is a time limit to personal injury claims and we discuss this. We also explain compensation in depth – how it is calculated and what it can cover. The guide ends with a look at how one of our solicitors could help you get compensation from the restaurant owner or operator through a type of No Win No Fee claim.
Read on to learn more or chat about the circumstances of your personal injury claim now if you wish:
- Call 0800 073 8801 to discuss your restaurant injury claim.
- Use our live discussion option.
- Contact us online.
Choose A Section
- What Are Restaurant Accident Claims?
- What Types Of Restaurant Accidents Could I Claim For?
- What Evidence Can Be Used In Restaurant Accident Claims?
- How Much Compensation For An Accident In A Restaurant?
- How Long Do I Have To Make A Restaurant Accident Claim?
- Can I Claim For Restaurant Injuries On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Learn More About Making A Personal Injury Claim
What Are Restaurant Accident Claims?
A claim for personal injury needs to show that a duty of care owed to you was breached and this resulted in you being harmed. The specific legislation for health and safety in public places is called the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. It requires those in control of areas open to the public to take steps to implement reasonable measures that keep the public safe whilst they are lawfully using the premises and facilities.
To go ahead with a personal injury claim against a restaurant owner or operator, there are three points of eligibility to be met :
- A duty of care applied at the moment of injury.
- The occupier responsible for the premises breached this duty to you.
- As a result, you were injured.
To proceed with a valid claim, all three points must be met. If you have any questions about eligibility for restaurant accident claims, please call one of our advisors.
What Types Of Restaurant Accidents Could I Claim For?
Accidents can happen naturally and not every injury in a restaurant is automatically their fault. However, we now list some examples of valid reasons to launch a public liability claim against a restaurant:
- An unattended spillage with no wet floor signs caused a diner to slip and suffer back pain and injury in a fast food outlet.
- Despite management being aware of the issue, a broken mirror in the toilet facilities at a Chinese restaurant caused a customer a deep finger laceration and hand injury.
- The restaurant operators fail to put a clear warning near a hot serving area in a tapas bar and a customer burns their arm.
- Faulty seating by a hotdog van collapses and causes a customer to suffer a leg fracture.
- Untrained staff spill hot food over a customer, resulting in severe scalds to their head and neck.
Can I Claim If Injured When Working In A Restaurant?
All employers owe their staff of duty of care under legislation called the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). It requires employers to take practicable and reasonable steps to ensure the safety and welfare of their staff whilst at work. A failure of this duty could involve:
- Failing to provide correct personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, which causes burns to the employee’s hands.
- Not training staff in proper food handling techniques, again risking burn injury to inexperienced staff.
Please call if you need free information and guidance about accident at work claims.
What Evidence Can Be Used In Restaurant Accident Claims?
Evidence is a vital part of a personal injury claim and it needs to show how the restaurant owner breached their duty of care to your safety and caused your injury. With this in mind, the following examples of evidence are useful:
- The contact details of witnesses who saw the accident. Any solicitor acting on your behalf can then approach these people for a supporting statement.
- Copies of any CCTV footage on the restaurant premises that captured the accident.
- Photos of the injuries.
- A copy of any accident book entry from the restaurant.
- Medical proof of injury, such as your medical records with information about your injuries and the treatment.
You may like to seek legal advice from a specialist public liability solicitor about gathering evidence. If you contact our advisors about restaurant accident claims and have a free case eligibility check, if you meet the requirements, they could connect you to one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
How Much Compensation For An Accident In A Restaurant?
You might be entitled to restaurant accident compensation that covers two heads of loss called general and special damages. General damages compensate the person for the physical pain and psychological injuries they suffered as a result of what happened.
To calculate general damages, the parties involved in valuing restaurant accident claims can refer to medical reports and might consult documents like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). In this document is a list of award guidelines for various types and degrees of injury.
In our table below you can see an excerpt from the JCG. We’ve used the entries for injuries that might occur in a restaurant setting, such as scarring from burns or fractures from slipping over:
Compensation Guidelines
| Area of Injury | How Severe? | Award Guidelines | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple and severe types of injury as well as Special Damages. | Severe | Up to £1 million plus | Cases of multiple types of severe injury and the Special Damages that can be awarded to lost income, medical expenses and cost of professional care. |
| Head/Brain | (b) Moderately Severe | £267,340 to £344,150 | A very serious disability causing limb paralysis and cognitive damage that requires care from others. |
| (c) Less Severe | £18,700 to £52,550 | Despite serious initial injury, the person makes a good recovery and can return to work and social activities with only minor persisting problems with mood, concentration and memory. | |
| Back | (a) Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 | Disc lesions, fractures and soft tissue damage that create ongoing chronic conditions such as pain and impaired agility. |
| Shoulder | (b) Serious | £15,580 to £23,430 | Dislocations to the shoulder that can also include nerve damage in the brachial plexus region. |
| Hand | (e) Serious Hand Injuries | £35,390 to £75,550 | Injuries that reduce the capacity of the hand by approximately half and may include partial amputations affecting grip. |
| Severe Leg | (iii) Serious | £47,840 to £66,920 | Cases of serious communited and compound fractures or ligament damage that require extensive treatment and prolonged periods of non-weight bearing. |
| Foot | (e) Serious | £30,500 to £47,840 | Injuries that can lead to traumatic arthritis, require prolonged treatment and raise the risk of surgery. |
| Scarring | Other Parts of the Body | £9,560 to £27,740 | Cases of a noticeable laceration scar to leg(s), arm(s) or hand(s). |
| Facial Disfigurement | (c) Significant scarring | £11,120 to £36,720 | Cases where plastic surgery improves the worst effects but psychological distress (whilst initially significant) improves. |
The award bracket amounts in the JCG are purely guidelines and we include a topline amount that does not come from this publication. As such, please only use this table as guidance.
The second component of a successful restaurant accident compensation claim is special damages. This takes into account the financial damage and loss created by the injuries. If you want to include this in your claim, you need documented evidence that proves the financial harm, such as:
- Payslips that show a drop or loss in income caused by time off work with an injury.
- Receipts for travel fares to essential appointments.
- Invoices or statements proving paid amounts to carers.
- Proof of the expenses of making vital changes at home to deal with a permanent disability.
To talk about compensation for your restaurant accident and injury claim, call the team. They can assess how much compensation could be awarded for a successful restaurant injury claim.
How Long Do I Have To Make A Restaurant Accident Claim?
When considering suing a restaurant, it’s important to know that there is a three-year time limit as stated in the Limitation Act 1980 for starting a personal injury claim. Typically, this starts from the date of the accident.
Under certain circumstances, this time limit is paused if the injured person is under 18. A claim may be launched for them if the courts designate a litigation friend. This is usually a parent or concerned adult. Alternatively, the three-year time limit can start from the date they turn 18 with an independent claim.
Claimants who lack mental capacity are not subject to a time limit at all. A litigation friend may also commence an action for them. Or the person has three years to start a claim from the date that their mental capacity has returned.
To find out if you are still within the time limit to launch a claim, or to discuss anything to do with restaurant accident claims, please contact one of our friendly advisors.
Can I Claim For Restaurant Injuries On A No Win No Fee Basis?
You can start a restaurant accident claim yourself, but there are enormous advantages to using a personal injury solicitor to claim compensation.
Firstly, they have decades of expertise in calculating damages more accurately, so that covers all your losses. Furthermore, they can argue for the maximum amount on your behalf whilst handling all the correspondence and court requests that arise in personal injury claims, such as Pre-Action Protocol. Giving you the space and time to recover from your injuries.
Our solicitors can offer excellent services like these through a type of No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under these terms there are no fees that need to be paid to your solicitor upfront or while the claim moves ahead. In addition to this, if the claim fails there are no solicitors fees to pay at all for finished work.
Should the outcome of your claim after an accident in a restaurant be successful, only a small success fee needs to be paid. This percentage is subject to a legal limit, so the person claiming always benefits the most from the outcome.
If you would like to discuss restaurant accident claims, or find out if you have a valid case, speak with one of our friendly advisors. They’re available 24/7 to help you. Additionally, if you are eligible and wish to proceed, they can connect you to one of our solicitors. To speak to an advisor today:
- Call on 0800 073 8801 about your potential compensation payout.
- Use our live discussion option.
- Contact us online to see how much compensation is possible.
Learn More About Making A Personal Injury Claim
As well as information on restaurant accident claims for personal injury, these other articles from our website may be helpful to you:
- Read about a claim if you tripped on a rug in a public place.
- Here is information on a claim for allergy and food poisoning.
- Further information about post-traumatic stress disorder claims (PTSD).
External resources:
- Read about when to call 999 after an accident.
- Here is information on hospitality and catering safety from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Also, you can read advice on how to treat burns and scalds from the NHS.
Lastly, we greatly appreciate your interest in our guide about restaurant accident claims. For any further help on how to claim compensation for restaurant injuries with the help of a No Win No Fee solicitor, connect with the team.
