Slip, trip and fall claims in Scotland
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Published by Rooney Family Law Limited, solicitors, regulated by the Law Society of Scotland. Last reviewed 20th September 2026.
If you fell in a shop, on a pavement or in another public place in Scotland, you may have a claim, but only if someone failed to take reasonable care. A fall on its own is not enough: the claim turns on whether the person responsible for the place knew, or should have known, about the danger and did nothing about it in reasonable time.
What the law asks
Under section 2 of the Occupiers' Liability (Scotland) Act 1960, whoever occupies premises must take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to see that people are not injured by the state of the place. That is a duty to be reasonable, not a guarantee of safety. A supermarket is not liable simply because somebody dropped a grape. It is liable if it had no proper system for spotting and clearing spillages, or had one and did not follow it.
So the first question is not "did you fall?" but "how long was that hazard there, and what system was supposed to catch it?" In a shop the answer usually lies in the cleaning and inspection records, which your solicitor can ask for.
Who is responsible, and for what
Shops, supermarkets, pubs and restaurants. The occupier. Spillages, trailing cables, worn or loose flooring, poorly lit steps, items left in aisles.
Pavements and local roads. The roads authority, usually the local council, under its duty in section 1 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain the public road. Motorways and trunk roads are Transport Scotland's responsibility through its operating companies. These claims are harder than people expect, because the authority can defend by showing a reasonable system of inspection and that the defect had not been reported or had not been there long enough to be caught.
Tenement closes and stairs. Often the owners jointly, sometimes a factor, depending on the title deeds and the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004. A specialist firm works out who is responsible; it is rarely obvious.
Rented homes. The landlord, for the parts they are responsible for repairing.
Sites you were visiting. Whoever controlled the site.
Why photographs on the day matter more here than anywhere else
In most claims the evidence stays put. In a fall claim it does not. The spillage is mopped, the paving slab replaced, the cable coiled away, and within a week there is nothing to see. A photograph taken on the day, with something in it for scale, is very often the difference between a claim that succeeds and one that cannot be run at all. Photograph the hazard, the surrounding area, and anything showing how long it had been there, such as dirt in a spillage or weathering in a crack.
Then report it, in writing if you can. In a shop, ask for the accident book entry and a copy. To a council, use its online fault reporting form and keep the reference number.
Depth of defect, and other things that are not actually rules
You may read that a pavement defect must be an inch deep, or some other figure, before a claim can be made. There is no such rule in Scotland. Depth is one of the things a court weighs when deciding whether a defect was dangerous, along with where it was, who uses the route and how well lit it is. A shallow but wide hole on a busy pavement outside a shop may be more dangerous than a deeper one on a quiet path.
If the fall was partly your own doing
Compensation can be reduced to reflect your share of responsibility rather than refused. Unsuitable footwear, using a telephone while walking or ignoring a warning sign may reduce an award. A visible warning sign is relevant to whether the occupier took reasonable care and whether you contributed to the accident, but it does not automatically defeat a claim.
What you can claim for, and how long you have
The injury itself, lost earnings, treatment, travel, damaged belongings and the care your family have given you. Normally three years from the date of the fall to start a court action, and enquiring does not stop that clock.
When we will say a claim is unlikely to proceed
Where nobody was at fault, which covers a great many genuine accidents; where there is no evidence of the hazard and no way of getting any; where the occupier can show a reasonable inspection system and no notice of the problem; or where the injury was very minor. We will tell you plainly and explain why.
Questions people ask
I did not report it at the time. Is that fatal?
No, but it makes the claim harder. Report it now in writing and tell us why it was not reported then.
The shop has CCTV. Can we get it?
Often, if it is asked for quickly. Footage is routinely overwritten within weeks, so tell us at once if you think you were recorded.
Can I claim for a pothole that damaged my car?
That is a property damage claim rather than an injury claim, and it is not something we handle.
Injured in a fall? Tell us what happened
We assess your enquiry free of charge and, with your consent, refer good claims to a specialist personal injury firm, which decides whether to take your case on. We receive a referral payment from that firm, paid out of the fee it earns; under our agreement it must not increase the success fee you are charged.
Sources for this page: Occupiers' Liability (Scotland) Act 1960, section 2; Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, section 1; Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 17; Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, sections 6 and 8; Transport Scotland, trunk road operating companies.