Accidents happen when you least expect them. No one expects to be injured when they quickly pop down to your local shop to get groceries for dinner, or go out on a Saturday morning to do some shoe shopping. An accident can happen quickly and without warning, and it can be a huge shock to the system when it happens. Your whole body is vulnerable to all kids of injuries every day, no matter where you go and what you do. Fall accidents that happen in a shop can be minor and involve a small cut or bruise that is hardly noticeable, but other fall accidents are severe and can severely affect the way that you live your life.
If you have suffered a shop accident that was not your fault, you deserve justice and compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. Contact Free Legal Justice today to discuss the merits of your shop accident claim.
What Is A Shop Accident Claim?
A shop accident claim is a legal case you can institute to claim compensation if you’ve been hurt in some form of accident while at the shop, that was not your fault. It refers to the legal process of recovering compensation from the party that caused you harm, or who was legally responsible for your shop accident. The financial sum awarded in a successful compensation claim will usually be paid by an insurance company.
In most cases, you can make a shop accident claim if you or a loved one has been hurt in any kind of fall accident in the following circumstances:
- You were injured in the shop accident within the last three years;
- The injury resulted in you suffering financially as well as physically; and
- The injury was clearly caused wholly or partly by another person.
Free Legal Justice offers free, unbiased legal advice to potential clients on the merits and process of their compensation claims. Our accident claims experts will guide you on the best means to achieve your rightful compensation. If you’ve suffered an injury in a shop accident and it feels wrong, contact Free Legal Justice today to discuss how our compensation claims team can help make it right.
What Should I Do After I Have Suffered A Shop Accident?
It is advisable to seek emergency treatment if you have:
- Body pain that comes on suddenly, is remarkably severe, or is accompanied by pressure, fullness or squeezing in your chest (this may signal a heart attack); or
- An obvious deformity or protruding bone, especially if you have bleeding or other injuries
- Severe burns or exposure to a dangerous chemical substance
You should see your doctor as soon as possible if you have:
- A sudden injury to any part of your body during the fall, particularly if you hear a snap or cracking sound
- Severe pain and swelling on any part of your body following the fall
- Severe bruising to any part of your body following the fall
- Trouble moving your body normally, or moving your limbs in the usual way
If bodily injury has been caused as the result of another person’s actions or breach of a duty of care in a shop, you may have a valid claim for compensation against the person who caused you harm.
Shop accident claims can arise for many different reasons and can affect both employees as customers within the shop. Free Legal Justice has dealt with each of these types of personal injury claims before, and we are well placed to advise you on your shop accident claim.
What Information Do I Need For My Shop Accident Claim?
Generally, to be able to assist you on your shop accident claim, your lawyer will need the following details from you:
- how you sustained the shop injury and who was involved in causing the injury;
- where you were at the time of the incident, be it in a car, at work or in a public place;
- details of those present when you suffered the shop accident, either as victims or witnesses;
- full details of your injuries, any medical diagnosis and details of the impact that this has had on your life, both physically and financially.
Based on these details, a claims handler from the Free Legal Justice team will be able to assess your shop accident claim and advise you on the merits of your case. If we think you have a valid claim, we will also be able to give you an estimated value and advise you on the next stages in the process.
Our Shop Accident Claims Solicitors Are Here To Help
Contact Free Legal Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly personal injury claims handlers on 0800 567 7074. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly legal professionals, so that we can start your shop accident claim without delay.
Types of Shop Accident Claim Injuries
- Sprains
A sprain injury describes damage caused to ligaments when they are stretched beyond their normal range of motion. A ligament sprain can be mild and result from many microscopic tears in the fibres that comprise the ligament, or it can be an extremely severe injury and result in a complete tear or rupture.
- Fractures
If your limb has been fractured, it means that there has been a break in one or more bones within the limb. Fractures can be caused by tripping or falling, or by being crushed by a heavy load or by the impact of a heavy object.
Treatment depends on the site and severity of the injury. A simple break might be treated with a sling or cast, ice and rest. However, the bone may require realignment (reduction) in the emergency room. A more complex break might require surgery to realign the broken bone and to implant wires, plates, nails or screws to keep the bone in place during healing.
- Dislocations
Dislocations are caused by twisting or rotating the body part out of its ordinary position. A dislocated shoulder for example is an injury in which your upper arm bone pops out of its socket, which is part of the shoulder blade. The human body has many mobile joints which are susceptible to dislocation.
- Nerve problems
The most common causes of radial nerve injury result from breaking a bone in your limb, overusing and straining a body part, and suffering other accidents. Depending on the level of injury, you may experience a complete split of the radial nerve.
Nerves are the body’s “telephone wiring” systems that carry messages between the brain and the rest of the body. Some nerves carry messages from the brain to muscles to make the body move. Other nerves carry messages about pain, pressure, or temperature from the body to the brain.
A cut to the nerve can cause it to no longer transmit signals, because the signal cannot jump through a gap in the nerve. Stretch injuries to the nerve can range from mild, temporary nerve injury to a more severe, permanent nerve injury. The extent of the injury depends on the amount of stretch.
- Burns and punctures
These injuries can occur as result of a sharp object making contact with a part of your body, exposure to chemical substances, fire and explosions.
- Muscle and tendon strains
Similar to sprains, a strain may be a simple stretch in your muscle or tendon, or it may be a partial or complete tear in the muscle-and-tendon combination. Typical symptoms of a strain include pain, muscle spasm, muscle weakness, swelling, inflammation, and cramping.
If you happen to experience any pain after being involved in a shop accident, make sure that you do not ignore it. If you ignore it, this could end up creating lasting negative effects on your body and mobility. Seek medical assistance immediately. When a doctor assesses your injury, he or she will examine the kind of tissue that has been damaged, whether it is a bone, ligament, or tendon that has been damaged by some sort of incident. If you have been injured in a shop as a result of an accident that was not your fault, you may have a shop accident claim and you should contact Free Legal Justice as soon as possible to start your compensation process.
How Long Do I Have to Make Shop Accident Claims?
Generally, you need to make a claim for personal injury compensation within three years of the date of the accident, or of the date of diagnosis of your injuries. There are exceptions to this rule, for example you may be allowed a longer time period if you are claiming on behalf of a child or protected person. On the other hand, if the accident was the result of criminal activity such as a hit and run car accident, time limits may vary.
What Will It Cost Me To Make A Shop Accident Claim?
Many people worry about the potential cost of legal advice when making a shop injury compensation claim. We have good news. At Free Legal Justice, the vast majority of cases we work on are taken on a No Win No Fee basis, which means that there is no financial risk to you.
No Win No Fee Agreements For Shop Injury Claims
A No Win No Fee agreement lets you continue with your shop accident claim on the condition that if the claim is not successful, you won’t owe Free Legal Justice any fees for the work we have done on your case. Put simply, it is a way for you to take the necessary legal steps to claim rightful compensation for your shop injury, without any financial risks weighing over your head. Our highly skilled lawyers are happy to offer No Win No Fee agreements to clients seeking rightful compensation for personal injuries, because they are extremely confident in their legal skills and have a track record of successful claims behind them.
It’s FREE To Start Shop Injury Claims With Us
A No Win No Fee agreement is a stress-free, financially-savvy way to make your shop accident claim. Once you have discussed the details of your case with a member of the Free Legal Justice team, and have agreed for us to continue with your case on a No Win No Fee basis, your work is essentially complete. You can sit back, relax, and let the dedicated Free Legal Justice team do the rest of the hard work for you!
How Much Will I Be Charged If My Shop Accident Claim Is Successful?
One of the best things about a No Win No Fee agreement is that you will never need to pay us legal fees in advance. A No Win No Fee agreement means that we will only get paid after the fact, if your compensation claim is successful.
Our personal injury lawyers charge on an average success fee of 25% of the total compensation received for your claim. Your solicitor will make sure to discuss the success fee upfront, and this success fee will be agreed in writing between the parties before you make your shop accident claim. If Free Legal Justice helps you to win your case, we will receive the success fee as payment for our legal fees.
What Happens If My Shop Accident Claim Is Unsuccessful?
Free Legal Justice holds the risk of your claim not being successful. In the unlikely event that we can’t help you to win your shop accident claim, Free Legal Justice will not charge you any legal fees for the work done by your designated accident claims lawyer. That means that you will not need to pay Free Legal Justice a thing if your claim is not successful.
To ensure that you are fully protected and have peace of mind over your financial risks, our team can help you to secure ‘After the Event’ insurance. This insurance covers you in the event that you are unsuccessful with your claim, and in case the court orders you to pay a part of your opponent’s legal costs.
What If I Am A Shop Employee And I Am Injured On The Job?
Employees can also claim against their employers for injury suffered at work. A work injury results from an accident during the course of work, which leads to some form of physical or mental occupational injury. Accidents at work are caused by a combination of unsafe behaviour and dangerous working conditions. If an accident at work happens, it is crucial that an employer has adequate safety processes and policies in place to deal with the incident. If another person is to blame for an accident at work that has caused you an injury, it is likely that you are entitled to make a compensation claim against your employer. This will be a claim for compensation for the injuries you have sustained and pain and suffering you have endured as a result of the accident.
Employee Shop Accident Compensation Claims
While any employee is at risk when of suffering a work-related injury, some employees are more likely to suffer harm and severe injuries than others. This includes people working in hospitals or other care workers, those working in manufacturing and building industries, as well as those in the retail industry including waiters, staff in shops, chefs, shop assistants and bar staff.
If your injury was caused by the negligence of another employee, you should not worry that this person will be personally liable to pay you financial compensation. Because of a principle known as vicarious liability, your employer will be responsible for all actions of their employees, whether negligent or otherwise. This means that an employer will be liable for the injury that an employee has suffered at work. Employers are required by law to take out liability insurance to cover claims by employees that have suffered injuries at work.
Shop Work Accident Claims
It is not always obvious who caused the accident at work, or who is responsible for whatever caused your injury. In most cases however your employer will ultimately be liable for the harm you have suffered, and will have breached the duty of care that they have towards you because they failed to ensure your health and safety at work. If your employer fails to comply with their duty of care towards employees, and their failure to do so results in an accident or injury at work, you will have sufficient grounds for the employee to make a compensation claim.
If you are an employee that has suffered injury because of a shop accident while you were acting in the scope of your employment, get in touch with Free Legal Justice today to discuss the merits of your claim.
What Is My Shop Accident Claims Worth?
Someone’s legal right to compensation for a shop accident claim is based on getting them back to the positon they were in before they suffered the injury. In compensation claims generally, damages sums are calculated with reference to the seriousness of the injury suffered, and the type of assistance that the victim may need going forward to be able to live with their injuries. Your legal team will also include a claim for out-of-pocket expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident.
Compensation claims include general and special damages. In summary, general damages refers to compensation for the physical injuries, while special damages are compensation for additional expenses incurred due to the injury. A member of the Free Legal Justice claims team will be sure to go through your calculation of general and special damages with you in detail once you’ve agreed to make a shop accident claim.
Calculating The Value Of Your Shop Injury Claim
There are specific rules of how to calculate general damages for different levels of harm experienced in shop accident claims. Your general damages will be calculated by matching your independent medical report with the sums given in the official Judicial Board Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases. The compensation that you will receive at the end of your case will be influenced by details such as how serious your injury was and how long you may take to recover from your injuries. Some of the more common injuries that we deal with in relation to fall claims are:
Head Injury Shop Accident Claims
Any injury to the head is a severe issue, because the brain is also at risk of injury. The amount of compensation that you will be entitled to claim will depend on how serious the brain injury is. A person suffering from minor head injury, with no injury to the brain, may be entitled to claim compensation in the region of £3,000 to £6,000. If there is major damage to the head and the brain has also been affected, the compensation claim can be over £20,000. The most severe cases would be those where the victim is left completely unresponsive and has suffered permanent severe brain damage. Such severe head injuries could fetch a compensation of over £200 000, and will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Mental or Psychological Injuries
The compensation that you can claim for a mental injury is dependant on the seriousness of the mental or psychological injuries you have suffered. If you have suffered psychological harm that is ruled as temporary, and things are expected to return to normal soon, your compensation claim can be anything between £4,000 and £10,000. Where mental and psychological injuries are more severe or permanent, the compensation claim can reach up to £50,000.
Upper Body Injuries
If you have suffered minor injuries to the upper body area, including the neck and shoulders, you may have a compensation claim in the amount of up to £6 000, depending on the nature of your injuries. If you have suffered more severe upper body injuries, such as dislocation and fractures, you could have a claim of up to £29,000.The largest compensation pay-out that you can receive will be for severe, permanent injuries such as paraplegia, where the amount of compensation can be anything between £35,000 and £100, 000.
Back Injury Shop Injury Claims
Back injuries are risky, painful and tiring. If your back has been injured in an accident, there is a high risk of spinal damage and it is important that you get a medical assessment to prevent any further potential damage. A back injury can result in you becoming immobile, or even result in you becoming paralysed. A claim for minor back injuries can reach up to £9000, while severe permanent back injuries to nerve root or spinal cord can give you a compensation claim of up to £120,000.
Hands, Arms, and Wrist Injuries
It can be tricky to calculate the potential loss that a person suffers because of a wrist or hand injury. Less severe hand and wrist injuries can give you a compensation claim of between £3 000 – £5 000, whereas a permanent injury or disability can stretch up to £30 000.
Lower Body Injuries
Injuries to the lower body area include any kind of injury to your ankles, knees, hips and legs. As with the other forms of injuries, the amount that you can claim for lower body injuries will vary depending on the nature of your injury. Compensation claims for minor lower body injuries can reach up to £10 000. If you have suffered lower body injuries that lead to permanent disability, loss of limb, or consistent and permanent pain, then your compensation claim could be up to £25 000.
The compensation sums applicable to various types of personal injuries mentioned above are not in any way fixed, and should only be used as a broad guideline of the potential value of personal injury claims available to victims of accidents. Your individual shop accident claim will be assessed by our expert team in a free, confidential consultation once you have provided us with all the details of your accident.
Special Damages In Shop Accident Claims
Special damages forming part of your compensation claim include compensation for any additional expenses that you have had to incur as a result of the shop accident. This is a broad category of damages, and can range from loss of past and future income, to costs of counselling and therapy sessions, to traveling expenses, supplementary childcare expenses, as well as nursing and household adaptations that you have made to help you live with your injuries. Your claims handler will explain to you which amounts will contribute to your special damages claim.
It is important to know that special damages can only be claimed if you are able to present some sort of evidence of the expenses. You need to show that you have already incurred these expenses, or will in future incur these expenses, for example by presenting receipts, reports, payslips and other documentation relevant to the damages. The Free Legal Justice team is available to consult 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is ready answer any questions you might have about the calculation of your general and special damages claim.
Talk To Us For Free Legal Shop Accident Claims Advice
If would like to chat about the compensation claims process, please get in touch with Free Legal Justice now by filling out the online form and waiting for us to call you back, or by calling us on 0800 567 7074. If you prefer to discuss the merits of your case from the comfort of your own home, please let our team know and one of our friendly compensation claims solicitors will be able to arrange a home visit to start your claim journey.
Contact Free Legal Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly compensation claims handlers on 0800 567 7074. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly compensation claims handlers, so that we can start your compensation claim without delay.
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