Welcome to our guide on making a public park accident compensation claim. If you or your child has been injured in a public park accident, you could be eligible to claim compensation. In this guide we look at when and how public park accident claims could be made.
Firstly, we look at what public liability claims are and at who may have owed you a duty of care. Next, we move on to looking at causes of public park accidents and the types of injuries which could occur. Then we move on to looking at when and how you could claim on behalf of a child.
Following this, we move on to looking more at the claims process covering evidence which could support your claim and look at how compensation may be calculated. Finally, we look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor could support you, before including some further helpful resources.
If after reading our guide you are ready to begin your claim or want to learn more, our advisors are on hand.
You can reach one of our advisors 24 hours a day by;
- Use the live support at the bottom of the page.
- Send a message to start a claim online.
- Call now on 0800 073 8801
Choose A Section
- What Is A Public Park Accident Compensation Claim?
- How Could A Public Park Accident Happen?
- Can I Claim For A Public Park Accident On Behalf Of My Child?
- What Evidence Could Help Claim For Public Liability Accidents?
- How Much Public Park Accident Compensation Could I Receive?
- Make A Public Park Injury Claim Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Making Public Liability Claims
What Is A Public Park Accident Compensation Claim?
You may initially be asking, what is a public liability personal injury claim? Is it a way in which you can hold the owner or occupier of a public place liable for harm caused to your or a child. A public park accident compensation claim is a type of public liability claim. If successful, a public park injury claim will be awarded compensatory damages.
In order to make any type of compensation claim, you must meet the relevant eligibility criteria. When claiming for a public park accident you must show that;
- The owner or operator of the park owed you a duty of care. In the case of a public park, this duty of care is set out in Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. The occupier of a public space must take reasonable steps to ensure that the public can use the space for its intended purpose.
- There must have been a breach of this duty by the occupier. This could include a playground accident where broken equipment is left for public use.
- You (or your child) were injured due to the breach.
It will need to be established who was in control of the public space (park) at the time of your accident.
Who Owns Public Parks And Who Would I Claim Against?
One of the first steps in making a public park accident claim is establishing who was responsible for ensuring the park is safe to use.
Most public parks are owned by a local authority. However, individual parks, or playgrounds within a park, may be operated by third parties on behalf of the local authority. For example, a third party may be responsible for maintaining and operating a splash park. In addition, Royal Parks in London may be owned and operated by the Crown.
For more information on making a claim against a local authority or other party, please contact our team.
How Could A Public Park Accident Happen?
Public parks can encompass large areas with diverse terrain and facilities. For example, they may be more basic parkland or include facilities such as;
- A children’s playground,
- Sporting facilities,
- Outdoor gym equipment,
- Splash parks,
- Cafes.
Therefore, this means parks may present a very wide range of different types of potential hazard. Examples of potential hazards which could cause a public park accident could include;
- Poorly constructed or unsafe playground equipment is installed for children to use. If the equipment has not had a safety inspection, users could be harmed.
- Sporting facilities have not been correctly maintained. Users could be injured by broken or damaged facilities.
- Slips, trips or falls could be caused by broken or damaged pavements and walkways.
- A park bench may collapse under a user if it is broken or otherwise damaged.
These accidents could result in a variety of different types of public park injuries.
What Are Common Types Of Public Park Injuries?
Public park injury claims could be made for a wide range of different injuries. Injuries in park accidents could include;
- Sprains, strains, bruises and similar soft tissue injuries.
- A serious head injury, such as those caused by falls from playground equipment.
- Back injuries caused by a park bench collapsing.
- A knee injury caused by tripping on a pothole.
If you have suffered any of the public park injuries discussed above or another, our team could help. Contact us to find out how to make a public park accident compensation claim.
Can I Claim For A Public Park Accident On Behalf Of My Child?
If your child has been injured in a park accident they could be owed compensation. However, those under the age of eighteen are not able to make a personal injury claim on their own behalf. Consequently, a parent, guardian or other suitable adult will need to act on their behalf.
To act on behalf of a child injured in an accident in a public park, you will need to be appointed as a Litigation friend. As a Litigation friend, you will manage the claim on behalf of the injured child. You will need to make decisions about the personal injury claim on their behalf.
Following a successful resolution of the public liability claim for a child, the compensation will be put into a trust account. The child will then be able to access this once they turn eighteen.
If no claim is brought on behalf of the child before their 18th birthday, they will then be eligible to claim compensation. Once they turn eighteen, the standard time limit to make a public liability claim is applicable.
Our team could help you to make a child accident claim. Please contact our team today for more information.
What Evidence Could Help Claim For Public Liability Accidents?
In order to make a public park accident compensation claim for you or your child, you need to prove the occupiers liability. You need to show that either a local authority or other party was at fault. In any personal injury claim you must supply sufficient evidence to prove how the other party was responsible.
Types of evidence you could collect and supply with your claim could include;
- Firstly, you should ensure that you or any other persons injured get any required medical assistance. This may include visiting a GP, hospital or calling 999 in an emergency. This will create a medical record of the injuries suffered. In addition, doing so also creates medical evidence usable in your compensation claim.
- Next, you should take photographs and collect any video or CCTV footage. You should take photos of any broken or damaged facilities, such as playground equipment, benches or potholes, etc. CCTV footage may have captured the accident.
- In addition, you should request witness details. If anyone witnessed your accident, you should request their contact information.
- Finally, if you were financially impacted by the injury, you could claim compensation for this. To do so, you will need to provide evidence of any associated costs and losses. We will highlight what financial costs could be claimed later in this guide.
If you or your child have been hurt in a playground or park, find out how to make playground accident claims with our team.
How Much Public Park Accident Compensation Could I Receive?
Successful public park accident compensation claims against local authorities will be awarded damages. Typically, you may be awarded damages for your pain and suffering (general damages) and those for financial losses (special damages).
When considering how much compensation may be appropriate for specific injuries, a solicitor may refer to the Guidelines by the Judicial College (JCG). The JCG publishes guidelines on how much compensation may be appropriate for different types of injury.
In the table below, we take figures from these guidelines. Please note that the first row figure is not taken from the JCG. This figure has been added to illustrate what you could be awarded for a combination of general and special damages.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple injuries which are serious to severe + special damages. | Serious up to severe | Including general and special damages. | Up to £500,000+ with special damages. |
| Brain injury | B - Moderately severe | Injuries which leave the person with serious disabilities. | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Knee injury | A - Severe - i | Where the joint has been disrupted. | £85,100 to £117,410 |
| Leg injury | B - Severe - (ii) Very serious | Injuries causing permanent mobility problems. | £66,910 to £109,290 |
| Foot injury | D - Severe | Fractures of the heel on both feet or similar types of injury. Could include an unusually severe injury to one foot. | £51,220 to £85,460 |
| Foot injury | E - Serious | Less serious foot injuries than above, but could include continuing pain. | £30,500 to £47,840 |
| Ankle injury | A - Very serious | May include unusual ankle fractures. | £61,090 to £85,070 |
| Hand injury | E - Serious | Injuries, such as where the capacity of the hand has been reduced by 50%. | £35,390 to £75,550 |
| Elbow injury | A - Severely disabling | An injury which is severely disabling. | £47,810 to £66,920 |
| Shoulder injury | B - Serious | A dislocated shoulder and brachial plexus damage. | £15,580 to £23,430 |
As has been noted, you could also claim compensation for financial losses and costs. Examples of costs and losses which could be claimed include;
- Medical costs and expenses. This could include the cost of prescription medication or treatment not available through the NHS.
- Loss of income including wages and other earnings. In addition, you may claim for lost overtime entitlement and accrued holiday pay, etc.
- Travel expenses. This could include the cost of travelling to and from associated medical appointments.
- Care costs such as that for care facilities or care in the home.
You could also claim for further impacts the accident has had on you and your family. As we have stated, in order for you to claim special damages you must provide evidence. For example, you could provide copies of
- Invoices for medical treatment.
- Receipts for medication
- Bank statements which show the impact on your earnings and income.
For an assessment of what public park accident compensation you could claim, please contact our team.
Make A Public Park Injury Claim Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you were injured in a public park, you could make a public park injury claim on a No Win No Fee basis. Your claim could be made on your own behalf, or for a child. The potential cost of making a claim can be a concern for people considering making a claim. Doing so with a No Win No Fee solicitor removes this concern.
A No Win No Fee solicitor will not ask for any upfront or ongoing fees. You will not need to make any payments for their work on your claim until you have been awarded compensation. At the end of your park or playground accident claim, if your claim is successful, your solicitor will deduct a pre-agreed success fee.
This fee will be set out in your Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is the agreement between you and your solicitor. The Success fee will be set as a percentage of your settlement. The maximum percentage which may be charged is set in law. This means you will get the majority of your compensation.
If your claim is not successful, your solicitor will not charge for their work carried out.
To find out if you could make a public park accident compensation claim, please contact an advisor today.
- You can call 0800 073 8801 to speak to an advisor.
- Click on the live support below.
- Message us to start your claim online.
Learn More About Making Public Liability Claims
In this final part of our guide to public park accident claims you can find further related guides from across our sites. In addition, we have also included helpful external references.
- In our guide to slip trip claims against the council you could find out more about how to make a claim.
- In this guide, we look at how to make hiking or walking tour activity accident claims.
- Here we look at how to make an activity centre injury claim.
External references
- Local authorities are responsible for parks. Find your local council in this government resource.
- Read more about the play safety advice in this guide from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
- Find out what to do if your child has an accident in this guide from the NHS.
Thank you for reading our guide to making a public park accident compensation claim. Whether you need more information or are ready to begin your claim, our team is on hand to help you. Get in touch with us today to find out about accident claims.
