Personal Injury & Public Liability

Personal Injury

Our attorneys in Cape Town and Johannesburg provide expert legal services related to personal injury claims. We assist you with legal counsel, processing of claims, and handling of legal matters related to personal injury cases.

What is a Personal Injury Claim?

Personal injury happens as a result of negligence of a third party. A personal injury claim is the legal process of claiming compensation for an individual who has been injured psychologically, physically, in terms of property, or in terms of rights and reputation as a result of negligence of a company, government, another person, or any other entity.

What Injuries Can You Claim for?

Injuries related to the following incidents can be claimed for:

• Road accident and motor vehicle claims
• Medical negligence claims
• Medical malpractice claims
• Metrorail accidents
• Aviation accidents
• Slip and fall claims
• Life and gate or door malfunction claims
• Wrongful arrest and detention
• Dog bite or animal attack claims
• Product liability claims
• Police assault claims

What Can You Claim for?

• Future hospital and medical expenses
• Past hospital and medical expenses
• Future loss of income due to the injury
• Past loss of income due to the injury
• General loss or damages
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Disfigurement

Public Liability

Public liability refers to the legal liability a business owner can face when a member of the public suffers loss or personal damage while visiting the business premises, or in the course of doing business with the goods or service provider.

Types of Public Liability Claims

The following are examples of public liability claims in South Africa:

• A member of public enters the business premises and slips and falls on a wet floor, trips and falls over or down unmarked steps, or trips on a broken tile
• Unsafe infrastructure on the premises such as broken railings which cause injury to a member of public
• Defective workmanship resulting in loss or damage suffered by a member of the public
• Consequential damage due to a defective or unsafe product purchased and used by a consumer
• Injury caused by exposed sharp object that should be covered
• Injury caused by objects falling such as signage or heavy products

Public Liability Claims

Determining how much compensation is required is a challenging task as the level of pain and suffering caused by such an injury is hard to measure.

Each case is treated individually according to the unique circumstances of the injury and injured person. The following are factors to consider when establishing how much compensation is required:

• The consequences of the injury in question
• The loss of income and earning potential both past and future
• Past and future medical expenses
• General damages such as pain and suffering
• The nature of the injury itself

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