Public Liability — No Win No Fee
Public liability claims arise when you are injured on someone else's premises or in a public place due to negligence. These claims are commonly handled on a no win no fee basis, with the Occupiers' Liability Acts 1957 and 1984 providing the primary legal framework.
What Is Occupiers' Liability?
Direct Answer: Occupiers' liability is the legal duty that businesses, councils, and property owners owe to people on their premises. The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 covers lawful visitors; the 1984 Act covers trespassers. Public liability claims can be brought on a no win no fee CFA with QOCS protection.
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 imposes a "common duty of care" on occupiers to take reasonable care to ensure that lawful visitors are reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which they are invited or permitted to be there.
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 extends a more limited duty to persons other than lawful visitors (including trespassers), where the occupier knows or ought to know of a danger, knows or ought to know that persons may come into the vicinity of the danger, and the risk is one against which the occupier may reasonably be expected to offer some protection.
Common Public Liability Claims
- Slips and trips in shops, supermarkets, and restaurants
- Falls on uneven or poorly maintained pavements
- Injuries in parks, leisure centres, and swimming pools
- Accidents in car parks
- Injuries caused by falling objects in public spaces
- Dog attacks in public places
Highway Claims
Under the Highways Act 1980, s.41, the highway authority has a duty to maintain the highway. If you are injured due to a defect in a public road, pavement, or path, the local authority may be liable. The authority has a statutory defence under s.58 if it can prove it took reasonable care to maintain the highway.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where this applies: This page covers England and Wales. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.
Sources for this page
Every rule stated above is based on the primary sources below. Each link goes to the legislation, court rule or regulator itself so you can check it. Last verified 2 August 2026.
- Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (conditional fee agreements)
The provision that makes CFAs lawful and enforceable. CFAs derive from this section, not from LASPO.
- Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, arts. 4–5 · in force from 1 April 2013
Art. 4 caps the success fee at 100% of base costs. Art. 5 caps what may be taken from damages in personal injury at 25% of PSLA plus past pecuniary loss, net of CRU, at first instance.
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44 (incl. rr.44.13–44.17, QOCS)
Qualified one-way costs shifting and its exceptions. Rule 44.14 was amended with effect from 6 April 2023.
Who wrote and checked this page
- Written and published by
- Edward & Amaury Solicitors (Edward & Amaury Ltd, company no. 12195443), regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 800525.
- Legal review
- Checked for England & Wales by Edward & Amaury Solicitors — Solicitors regulated by the SRA (no. 800525) (verify on the regulator’s register).Review is recorded against the firm. The individual reviewer is not named on this page.
- Review dates
- Last reviewed 2 August 2026. Next review due 2 February 2027.
Fee rules change. California’s medical malpractice fee limits changed on 1 January 2023, and the QOCS rules in England and Wales changed on 6 April 2023. If you spot something out of date, tell us — we publish corrections.