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Woman receives $150,000 in compensation after a slip and fall incident at a parking lot

Case Overview
  • A woman was injured in the car park when she slipped on a greasy park floor.
  • She suffered serious injuries on her back and arms, and was also impacted psychologically. 
  • Our client contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners seeking compensation for her injuries

Our client was injured in the car park at her local Shopping Centre when she slipped on a greasy substance on the car park floor. Our client sustained injuries to her back, and both arms with a subsequent psychological injury.

Our client contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners seeking compensation for her injuries sustained in the car park. Gerard Malouf & Partners issued court proceedings on the car park owner and controllers for compensation on behalf of our client.

Our Approach

Whilst seemingly a straightforward case that someone had fallen in a car park on a substance that should not have been there. Matters were complicated by the involvement of a car washing business who operated in the car park. 

This car park owner denied they were at fault for the client’s injuries and instead blamed the car washing business, from where the greasy substance was said to have originated. The car park owner, the controller and car washing business were each attempting to blame the other and denying that the client’s injuries were their responsibility.  Meanwhile, our client continued to suffer from ongoing difficulties at work and at home as a result of her injuries.

Ultimately a liability report was obtained for our client to pinpoint the negligence of all three defendants.

The team at Gerard Malouf & Partners successfully obtained an order from the court for the parties to participate in settlement conference.

The Result

At the settlement conference a result was obtained with a contribution from each defendant. Our client ultimately obtained a result of $150,000.

David Cossalter

Managing Partner
Frequently Asked Questions

More Information

Public liability refers to the responsibilities owners or occupants of a public space have to protect anyone who enters. If the owners or occupants fall short of these responsibilities, resulting in an injury, a case for compensation can be made.

Some of the most common incidents covered by public liability law include:

  • The food or drink from a restaurant makes you sick: The most common example of this type of public liability is food poisoning, however improperly disclosed allergens could also lead to litigation.
  • A slip and fall accident caused by negligence: Slip and fall incidents are especially common in busy public places such as playgrounds, schools, shopping centres, common walkways in buildings and outdoor event venues. They can result from negligent behaviour if poorly lit, uneven, unmarked or slippery surfaces are involved, amongst other reasons.
  • Injury caused by poor workmanship: If a product used by a space fails mechanically and causes an injury, a public liability claim can often be made. Examples include exploding gas bottles, poorly constructed furnishings and inadequate building structures. These cases may also be eligible for product liability litigation, if you decide to pursue both the property owner and the product manufacturer.
  • An attack by an animal while in a space: If the owners or occupants of a space fail to keep an animal, whether domestic or wild, contained as a result of negligence, you may have a potential case.
Following an initial meeting, the first task will be to establish the general facts of the case. This will include your medical diagnosis, which will need to be confirmed and documented by a doctor; and proof that the person or company at fault owed you a duty of care, which will need to be demonstrated. Together, this will show that your injury occurred when they breached that duty of care. From there a further investigation will proceed—contacting and interviewing witnesses, speaking with expert consultants, and more—all in order to bolster the strength of your case even further. Only once this process is complete, and your claim can be demonstrated and proven in full, will the process move on to the next step.

Public liability claims enable you to recoup the financial and emotional costs of suffering an injury due to someone else’s negligence. Defendants regularly offer monetary settlements to claimants, particularly if they acknowledge liability and believe they would lose in court.

But should you accept the settlement or proceed to the later stages of litigation instead, where a judge will have the final decision? Every case is different, but here are some of the factors you may wish to consider before making your choice:

  1. The size of the settlement
  2. The strength of your case
  3. Your patience levels
  4. Your lawyer’s advice

 

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About Us
Gerard Malouf & Partners have provided friendly, experienced legal advice to communities across Australia for over 35 years. Our Personal Injury Lawyers have taken on ten’s of thousands of cases and we are proud to have won billions of dollars for our clients.
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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.
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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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