Who is covered by public liability?
Public Liability Insurance has to be taken out under the law for anyone who opens their property to the public, it therefore encompasses almost any public place and if a place open to the public did not have an insurance policy to cover them then they would probably be in breach of the law.
Public liability is part of the law of tort which focuses on civil wrongs. An applicant (the injured party) usually claims under common law based on negligence and/or damages. Claims are usually successful when it can be shown that the owner/occupier was responsible for an injury, therefore they breached their duty of care.
If you feel that you have been injured as a result of an owner of a public place you may be entitled to claim compensation for the injuries you have suffered as a result.
Where you have had an accident that occurs on property open to the public this is known as a public liability compensation claim. If you have a tripped, slipped or fallen as a result of a defect, or in a building such as a shop, you may be entitled to make a public liability claim. The same would apply for other types of accidents caused by public property left in a dangerous condition, such as cuts caused by sharp protruding objects or injuries caused by falling debris.
The claim would be made against the person or organisation responsible for the property. They should have public liability insurance as detailed above to cover any injuries they have caused to members of the public. Your compensation would be recovered from their insurance policy and as such would not affect the owner directly.
Therefore everyone is covered by public liability if they owe a duty of care to members of the public. Where this duty has been breached and they may be liable for compensation the public liability insurance would cover this.
Updated on 06/07/2009