How Much Compensation For A Slip And Fall In A Restaurant?

By Stephen Anderson. Last Updated 13th October 2023. Have you been injured in a slip and fall in a restaurant? Was this caused by the negligence of someone who owed you a duty of care? If so, we may be able to help you claim compensation.

It doesn’t matter if you are a customer, a member of staff, or another personnel member, such as a stock delivery driver. The person in control of the restaurant needs to ensure that the risk of accidental injury is reduced as much as possible.

If you have suffered an injury in a restaurant because of wet floors or obstructed walkways, get in touch. Our advisors can provide free legal advice with no obligation for you to proceed with us just by getting in touch. They’re also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

To find out more about how we can help with claims for slip and falls, continue reading or contact us by:

Slip and fall in a restaurant claims guide

Slip and fall in a restaurant claims guide

Select A Section

  1. Calculating Payouts For A Restaurant Accident
  2. I Slipped On A Wet Floor Working In A Restaurant – Can I Claim?
  3. Restaurant Health And Safety
  4. Causes Of Slips And Falls In Restaurants
  5. What Are The Most Common Injuries Caused By Slips And Falls?
  6. What Evidence Can Help Me Claim For A Slip And Fall In A Restaurant?
  7. Talk To A No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyer
  8. Find Out More About Restaurant Injury Claims

Calculating Payouts For A Restaurant Accident

You may be wondering what the average payout for a slip and fall in the UK is. We have provided a list of guideline compensation amounts below. These are based on the Judicial College Guidelines. While these can be useful, we always recommend consulting with one of our advisors to get a more accurate figure of what you could be entitled to.

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Injury Nature of incident Possible compensation
Brain Damage (d) Less Severe Brain Damage Where the injured person has made good progress in their recovery and is able to return to work, but can still suffer with mood disinhibition as well as poor levels of concentration. £15,320 to £43,060
Foot Injuries (e) Serious These injuries will result in continuing pain resulting from traumatic arthritis. £24,990 to £39,200
Injury to the Pelvis and Hips (b) Moderate (i) Where there is a significant injury to the pelvis but there is not expected to be major permanent disability. £26,590 to £39,170
Back Injuries (b) Moderate (ii) For this level of compensation, there would be backache as a result of ligamentous disturbance. The amount of compensation will depend on how much pain you are in and how much your injury is likely to affect you in future. £12,510 to £27,760
Ankle Injuries (c) Moderate Here, you may expect tears to ligaments and fractures, which may make it difficult to walk on ground that is uneven. Scarring and metal plate irritation may also be present. £13,740 to £26,590
Neck Injuries (b) Moderate (ii) Here, you would expect to see damage to the soft tissue as a result of a wrenching-injury and disc lesions leading to limited movement as well as discomfort and pain. £13,740 to
£24,990
Other Arm Injuries (d) Simple Fracture of the Forearm Where there has been a fracture to the forearm, but the fracture itself is not complex and should heal relatively easily. £6,610 to £19,200
Shoulder Injuries (c) Moderate Frozen shoulder injuries, which are likely to last for up to 24 months. Soft tissue injuries may also be present for more than two years but will not be permanent. £7,890 to £12,770
Fracture of Clavicle The amount of compensation awarded will be based on whether any permanent effects are felt. £5,150 to £12,240

The above table discusses one head of claim called general damages. This compensates you for the suffering caused by physical, mental, or emotional injuries.

Another head of claim is referred to as special damages, which refers to financial losses you have sustained as a result of your accident. This could mean any losses you have incurred paying for home renovations to accommodate your injury, as well as lost wages. It is a good idea to hold onto receipts and payslips to prove your losses; not doing so could affect the amount you receive in special damages. 

To find out more about how much you could receive for your restaurant slip and fall, contact one of our advisors today for free legal advice. If you choose to, they can connect you to a solicitor from our panel to represent you in your claim.

I Slipped On A Wet Floor Working In A Restaurant – Can I Claim?

If you’ve been injured because you slipped on a wet floor while working in a restaurant, then a compensation claim may be possible. Your potential claim will need to establish that your employer breached the duty of care they owed you, and this contributed to your restaurant accident and subsequent injuries.

Employers owe you a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Per this duty, they must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure your health and safety while in the workplace. If they fail to do so, you could suffer an injury whilst working in a restaurant.

To see if you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim following a slip and fall in a restaurant, you can contact our advisors.

Restaurant Health And Safety

When someone is in control of a public space, including a restaurant, they have a duty of care towards members of the public as defined by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This requires them to take reasonable steps to ensure that the space is safe to use for the intended purpose. This also means expecting children to be less careful than adults.

If you have sustained an injury due to negligence in a restaurant, you could be eligible to claim compensation whether you’re a patron or an employee. For free legal advice, speak to an advisor today.  

Causes Of Slips And Falls In Restaurants

The HSE defines a possible list of causes for restaurant slip and fall injuries in their guide. These can include:

  • Spillages of food and drink: In a restaurant, glasses and plates can be dropped. If they aren’t signposted and cleaned up in an appropriate amount of time, these spillages can present a slip hazard.
  • Floors in disrepair: This could apply where floor coverings, for example, tiles or carpets, are uneven or badly fitted.
  • Trip hazards: In a restaurant environment, this can include cutlery caddies, wires, and empty cardboard boxes as well as cleaning equipment being left on the floor, and obstructing walkways. 
  • Poor lighting: poor visibility can cause an accident in areas with steps or low ceilings, especially where these are not adequately signposted.

Many of these factors are ones that can be expected from working in the food industry. For example, it’s not inherently negligence for food and drink to be spilt in a restaurant.

Where negligence arises is where members of staff fail to take the steps to reduce the risk of injury. For example, if food was spilt on a floor and presented a clear trip hazard but was not cleaned up by staff, this would be an example of negligence. If you slipped and injured yourself in these circumstances, then you may be able to claim.

If any of the above causes have happened to you, speak to us for free legal advice in relation to a claim. 

What Are The Most Common Injuries Caused By Slips And Falls?

We may think of slips and falls as a minor form of accident, but they have the potential to be dangerous. 95% of major slips result in a broken bone, according to the HSE resource on slips and trips. Even if you do not sustain a broken or fractured bone, there is still a wide range of injuries that can be sustained.

Examples of some injuries that can happen include:

  • Soft tissue injuries. These could occur anywhere on the body
  • Lacerations. This could be the case if you fall onto something sharp like broken glass.
  • Fractures. For example, you could sustain a broken foot, a fractured leg, broken pelvis, or broken elbow amongst other injuries. 
  • Slipped or herniated disc. You could sustain an injury of this nature if your fall causes you to land on your back.
  • Strains and sprains. These could occur at a number of different sites of the body depending on the nature of your accident. 

For more information on the process of claiming for a slip and fall in a restaurant that was caused by negligence, speak to one of our advisors today. You could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel to work on your claim.

What Evidence Can Help Me Claim For A Slip And Fall In A Restaurant?

You may be interested in starting a claim related to your restaurant accident. However, there are a few details to be aware of before you do.

If you have sustained an injury in a restaurant slip and fall, you should seek immediate medical attention. Not only will this ensure that you get the treatment that you need, but the medical record created from this visit could support your claim for compensation. 

When you are able to, you may wish to consider legal representation for your claim. This isn’t legally required, however, we do recommend this as it could help the process run more smoothly than it otherwise would.  

Next, you may wish to gather evidence. This can include:

  • CCTV footage
  • Photographs
  • Contact details from witnesses willing to provide a statement

You will also be asked to attend a medical examination. The intent of this is to assess the severity of your injuries and see how much compensation you could be entitled to. The report that is generated from this medical appointment will be used to value your claim. 

If you would like more guidance on other items you might need to prepare for your personal injury claim, call us for assistance today. 

Time Limit For Claiming For Injuries In A Restaurant

In addition to having sufficient evidence, if you would like to claim for injuries suffered in a restaurant, you must start legal proceedings within the time limit set by the Limitation Act 1980. This is usually three years from the date of your accident.

However, in some circumstances, there are limitation period exceptions. These include:

  • Those under the age of 18 have the limitation period frozen until their 18th birthday. Before this, a court-appointed litigation friend can bring forward a claim on their behalf. If they reach their 18th birthday and a claim was not made for them, they will have three years from that date to start the claiming process.
  • Those who lack the mental capacity to claim for themselves have the time limit indefinitely suspended. During this time, a litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. However, if the injured party regains this capacity and proceedings were not started on their behalf, they will have three years from their recovery date to file a claim.

If you have been injured after you slipped on the floor in a restaurant and would like to see whether you may have a valid personal injury claim, you can contact our advisors.

Talk To A No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyer

You may want to have a solicitor work on your claim but be concerned about the cost of legal representation. However, there is a solution that may help. 

A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is an agreement between you and your solicitor. A CFA is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement. This agreement will set out the conditions that need to be met before you pay your solicitor.

This kind of agreement means that you won’t be asked to make an upfront or ongoing payment to your solicitor in order for them to work on your case. If your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t be asked to make a payment to them at all. 

In the event that your claim is successful, a success fee will be deducted from your compensation. This is legally capped to prevent you from being overcharged.

If you believe a CFA might be right for you, speak to an advisor today to get additional information about claiming for a slip and fall in a restaurant. They can provide you with free legal advice and may be able to connect you with a solicitor from our panel. To find out more, why not get in touch? You can do so by:

Find Out More About Restaurant Injury Claims

Below, you can find more useful information on claiming compensation for a slip and fall in a restaurant:

Thank you for reading this article about claiming for injuries caused by a slip and fall in a restaurant.