Shopping centre injury
compensation claims

If a shopping centre injury has set you back, we'll help you move forward

Shopping centre Injuries commonly result from slip and fall accidents on spills, escalator or elevator malfunctions, or during holiday sales rushes.

If your life, or the life of a loved one, has been affected by a shopping centre accident, we can help. Whether your injuries were caused by a slip, trip, fall or other incident, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

You can make a compensation claim for an accident in a public place with the help and support of a personal injury solicitor.

You are not alone

Slips and trips (which are common in retail environments) are responsible for over 1/3 of all reported major injuries (hse.gov.uk).

Many people visit shopping centres on a regular basis statistics show there are over 2.4 billion annual visits not only for shopping but for meeting friends, eating out, or watching a film. Shopping centres are designed to be comfortable and very safe environments, but with such a high number of visitors there is a potential for accidents.

If you decide to make a shopping centre injury claim, your personal injury solicitor will take you through every step of the claims process. Your solicitor will be with you until you win your claim and get the compensation you need to move forward.

Do I qualify for shopping centre injury compensation?

You will usually be eligible to claim compensation if you have been injured in the following circumstances:

• within the last 3 years, and;
• another person was to blame, and;
• that person owed you a duty of care.

Find out online if you can claim with our injury claim calculator. Alternatively, you can speak to a claims advisor on 0800 376 1001 and find out if you have a claim in minutes.

Am I still eligible to claim if I was partially responsible?

Determining legal responsibility for a claimant's injuries can involve myriad factors.

In our recent 2023 Public Liability Injury Claimant Survey, 17.45% of respondents believed they may have been partly (or wholly) responsible for their injuries.

Even if your actions or negligence played a role in the accident, you could still be eligible for compensation. Cases with shared fault (contributory negligence) frequently settle through a split liability agreement.

Read more:

Can I claim if I feel I was partly responsible for my accident?

How long do I have to start a shopping centre injury claim?

For most injury claims, you have up to 3 years from the date of your injury to start the claims process.

The 3 year limitation period does not apply to minors (under 18s). A parent, guardian or litigation friend can start a claim on a child's behalf up to their 18th birthday and the child has until their 21st birthday to claim for themselves.

How much compensation can I claim for a shopping centre injury?

The amount of money you could claim for your injury will depend on:

• the seriousness of your injury, and
• any financial losses or costs you have incurred.

At the start of your claim, your solicitor will consider the many ways your injuries have affected your life. Your solicitor will take these considerations into account to calculate the correct compensation award.

General damages

General damages are awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA).

Awards for general damages are set by the Judicial College and published in their guidelines for personal injury awards.

How is compensation calculated if I have multiple injuries?

Special damages

If it can be proved that your injury left you unable to work, special damages can be awarded for any lost earnings, loss of commission or bonuses, and loss of pension contributions. It may also be possible to claim for loss of future earnings, if the medical prognosis establishes that you won't be able to work for any period in the future.

These damages will also cover the cost of any medical procedures you might need to treat or recover from your shopping centre injury such as pain medication and psychological support.

Read more:

A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim

Claiming compensation for psychological injuries

Although psychiatric injuries are less obvious than physical injuries and illness, mental health conditions can be no less debilitating.

Our 2023 Public Place Injury Claimant Survey reveals the extent of psychological trauma, with 29.03% of claims involving a psychological injury, 70.97% of which related to a physical injury.

Depending on the injury, an accident in a shopping centre may, for example, cause anxiety in public environments (agoraphobia).

A specialist solicitor will consider psychological harm when calculating your compensation. Psychiatric injuries are recognised in the official guidelines for compensation, and the cost of treatment and other mental health support should be included in your compensation award or settlement.

Our compensation calculator can estimate your compensation for psychological injuries. Or you can call us on 0800 376 1001 to speak to a specialist advisor.

What are the most common accidents?

Slips, trips and falls wet floors or spillages; escalator falls; entrance door accidents all may cause injury to a visitor. Cuts from sharp edges or broken objects, or bumps from large machinery may be sustained. Centre fittings and promotional materials may fall on visitors.

The range of injuries may include:

• Broken bones
• Cuts
• Whiplash
• Concussion

Who is responsible for visitor safety?

The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 states that an occupier of premises has a common duty of care to all his visitors to ensure that they are reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is invited or permitted by the occupier to be there .

In the case of shopping centres, it is a centre's management who are considered to be the occupier and responsible for their visitors' health and safety.

What can I claim compensation for?

Any compensation claim will take into account loss of earnings, expenses incurred as a result of the accident, and pain and suffering sustained.

However if a claimant has contributed to his own injuries by ignoring warnings for example crossing a cordoned off area, or deliberately going the wrong way on an escalator any compensation may be reduced due to his contributory negligence.

Who do I claim against?

Although in many cases it may be clear that the accident was caused by the negligence of the shopping centre ( the occupier), accidents may also be caused by independent contractors working on the maintenance of the area.

In these cases, providing the occupier has taken steps to satisfy himself that the contractor was competent, then the occupier may not be liable for that contractor's negligence.

Similarly, individual shops have a responsibility for their own premises, and may be liable for accidents occurring in their entrances.

Establishing who to bring a claim against may be complicated . . .

How did your injury happen?

Shopping centre injury claims are usually referred to as public place, or occupiers' liability, claims. Click on the icons below to learn more:

Public
places

Work
accidents

Other
accidents

Injury FAQs

How long does an injury claim take?

What are my chances of winning my claim?

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Can I claim for someone else?

How long do I have to make an injury claim?

What if a child was injured?

How we can help you with your injury claim

Your solicitor will fight for the best possible compensation settlement for you, and the highly-experienced panel of solicitors have an excellent track record of winning injury claims.

• FREE
  consultation
• Find out
  if you can claim
• No obligation
  to start a claim

Handled with the utmost professionalism... extremely kind, courteous and empathetic.

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Author:
Howard Willis, Personal injury solicitor

About the author

Howard qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and has specialised in personal injury for over 25 years. He is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and is a recognised Law Society Personal Injury Panel expert.