If you have had an accident on either publicly or privately owned land, you may have a claim if the accident was caused by a defect, poor maintenance or spillages.

Public authorities have a legal duty to maintain roads, footpaths and other walkways in a reasonable condition. They also have to carry out regular inspections to check for defects. If you have sustained an injury because of a pothole or other defect in the road or pavement you may have a claim against the public authority responsible.

Before a claim is likely to succeed the defect must be significant. It is difficult to define what this means but as a general rule any defect, such as a pothole, must be at least 3 cms in depth. If you would like us to consider such a claim it would therefore be very useful if you could provide us with a photograph of the defect. Photographs of the surrounding area can also be helpful if they show that the area is generally in a poor state of repair.

We will also need to establish how long the defect has been present before we can assess whether there has been a failure to carry out proper maintenance. Generally, the defect must have been present for at least six months before the local authority may be liable. This period may be longer if it is a minor road. It would be helpful if you could provide details of someone who uses the road or walkway regularly and who could confirm how long the defect has been present.

If you trip or slip on privately owned land you may also have a claim. Under the terms of the Occupiers Liability Act a land owner or occupier has a duty to take reasonable care for the safety of any visitors.

The following are just a few examples:

• If you trip in a pothole in a privately owned car park.
• If you slip on a spillage in a shop or supermarket and the shop owner is unable to show that they have a regular regime of inspection and cleaning.
• If you trip on a loose carpet and we are able to show that the owner of the premises knew or ought to have known about this risk but failed to repair it.