Trip And Slip Accidents

Firstly it is important to understand the definition of a public highway:

A "public highway" is road, pavement, path, track etc. which the public are entitled to use and is "maintainable at public expense (ie by local or national Government).

"Maintainable at public expense" means that the Local Authority (or National Authority) is required to maintain it and keep it free from defects which includes a tripping or slipping hazard to pedestrians who may use the highway.

Each council is required by law to keep a list of all the public highways within its geographical area. You can see this list free of charge at your council office.


There are many different examples of defects with a public highway that can cause you to trip or slip and injure yourself (or damage your vehicle)– including:

1. Raised or cracked paving stones
The local authority should keep their pavements in a good state of repair. Raised and cracked pavements are an obvious tripping hazard to pedestrians.

2. Trenches or other highway works that are not clearly sectioned off from road users
The local authority should ensure that whilst it (or its agents) is conducting any repairs or works to the highway it protects pedestrians from the hazard it creates. This could be by use of barriers and signs and there is legislation to govern how this is conducted.

3. Snow and ice
Since 1 November 2003 - councils are required to ensure that your safety on a highway is not endangered by snow and ice.

4. Spills which make the highway slippery and or dangerous to users
Normally a spill of oil etc. that could make a highway slippery is the result of a single act by another road user and not by the local authority or highways agency. Still that road user can be held responsible if you are injured as a result. An example is mud strewn upon the road which makes that highway dangerous, if it can be shown ,following an accident as to whom the responsible party is and they knew (or ought to have known) that they have deposited mud on the road then they may be held liable.

5. Damage or defects with the road or road surface itself
If you are unlucky enough to hit a large hole in the road (Pothole) causing you to crash your car then the person who caused the hole in the road can be responsible for your injures or vehicle damage. The council may even be responsible if it knew of the defect and failed to protect road users or repair the hole quickly.

6. Cracked, missing or damaged drainage grids or water/ electricity board covers
This might be the responsibility of the council or the water board/electric board or even a utility company (telephone/cable) .it could even be as a result of a contractor working on the site. In these circumstances we would have to make investigations via the local authority to identify who was working in that area prior to the accident.

7. Highway works not completed by the Local Authority or its contractors
The Local Authority will have a list of all the works done on the highway that was their responsibility and those that were not .By contacting the local authority and making investigation we can find out who we should be pursuing the claim against ,if a defect was not caused by the local authority.

To decide if you have a claim for a slip trip or fall you will need the particular circumstances of your accident to be assessed by one of our specialist personal injury solicitors.