A Slip & Fall Case Study

Consider this scenario involving one of our clients at Westminster Insurance. After running their business without incident for years, they were shocked when they received a claim for damages—nearly eight months after the accident had occurred. The claim came seemingly out of the blue, and it was a situation that could happen to almost anyone.

The claimant had been walking down a footpath leading to our client’s property when she stumbled on a crack in the concrete. The fall was severe; she shattered her upper arm, required surgery, and spent months in physical therapy before she could work again. The total cost of damages requested was close to £10,000.

Even more surprisingly, our client wasn’t initially aware that they bore any responsibility for the footpath. The documentation around property boundaries was ambiguous, which led to hours of investigation and legal work—all handled by Westminster’s Claims Team on behalf of the client.

In this case, the client hadn’t knowingly been negligent, yet they were found responsible for the fall. What started as an ordinary day quickly turned into a high-stakes situation with substantial legal costs and compensation claims.

Thankfully, they had chosen Westminster Insurance’s comprehensive Public Liability coverage, which made all the difference. With one quick call to us, they were able to hand the entire situation over to our Claims Team, who managed the case from start to finish.