Bristol Airport Accident Claims Guide

Bristol airport has served Wales and the South West region for over 60 years and more than seven million customers pass through the terminal each year. For most, there are no problems during their visit to the airport but for some, accidents can and do happen and may be serious enough to warrant a compensation claim.

Bristol airport

If you’ve had an accident at Bristol airport as either a customer, visitor, contractor or even a member of staff then you could use Legal Expert to make a no win no fee claim if the injury was caused by somebody else’s mistake.

Call our team of specialists today on 0800 073 8804 to begin your claim immediately or, if you’d like to know more, continue reading this useful guide which will provide you with plenty of helpful information.

Select A Section

• A Guide To Bristol Airport Accident Claims
• What Is An Airport Accident?
• Airport Accident And Injury Statistics
• Common Hazards At Airports Which Cause Accidents
• Wet Floor And Other Slips, Trips, And Falls
• Bristol Airport Car, Tram And Shuttle Crashes
• Baggage Carousel And Trolley Accidents
• Suitcase And Luggage Accidents
• Stair, Escalator, And Travelator Accidents And Injuries
• Bristol Airport Shops And Eateries
• Bristol Airport Work Accident Claims
• Personal Injury Claims For Baggage Handler Accidents
• Food Poisoning And Allergic Reaction Illnesses
• What Is The Best Way To Start A Personal Injury Claim?
• Damages You Can Claim After An Accident At An Airport
• Airport Personal Injury Compensation Calculator
• No Win No Fee Bristol Airport Personal Injury Claim Calculator
• How Our Legal Experts Can Help You To Claim Damages
• How To Contact Our Team
• Additional Resources

A Guide To Bristol Airport Accident Claims

Bristol airport converted from a flying club to a fully operational airport back in 1929 and has grown to be one of the most popular departure airports in the south of England.

For most people, their brief stay at the airport is calm, relaxed and comfortable prior to departing on their holidays or business trips. However, there are occasions where accidents happen which could’ve been avoided had airport staff done something differently.

This guide has been written with holidaymakers, business people, airport staff and visitors in mind as anyone from these groups could seek compensation if they’ve had an accident at Bristol airport and:

• The airport owed them a duty of care
• Somebody within the airports control breached that duty of care
• And, because of the breach, you became injured.

Using a good personal injury solicitor is important when you’re injured at an airport as they will understand the legislation that is in place to support your claim and also be able to identify how the airport was to blame.

In some cases, such as accidents that the airport could not prevent, you will be unable to make a claim but please speak with one of our team so that we can offer advice.

This guide will explain the types of accidents that commonly lead to compensation claims, airport accident statistics, the amounts of compensation your injury may be worth, how Legal Expert can help and also how to use our no win no fee compensation service.

What Is An Airport Accident?

An airport accident is an accident that happens anywhere from the minute you enter the airport carpark to the time that you board the place, whether in the lobby area or air side.

As mentioned above, to make a successful compensation claim, the accident needs to have been caused by somebody else’s error, negligence or breach of health and safety policies.

An accident at Bristol airport can lead to a compensation claim for anybody who’s authorised to be on site, not just tourists. This means that if you work at the airport, are making a delivery or visiting for any other reason, then you could claim in the same way that a plane passenger could.

Airport Accident And Injury Statistics

Aside from passenger injuries at airports there are statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive that show that in the 5 year period between 2009 and 2014 there were over 6000 injuries sustained by airport staff (and this figure excludes injuries involving cargo handling).

Some of these cases could’ve led to compensation claims against the airports in question and include:

• 2 Fatalities
• Nearly 600 injuries deemed as ‘major’
• Over 5,500 injuries that required over 3 days off from work

It’s difficult to ascertain from these statistics how many of these injuries were caused by the person involved rather than somebody else’s negligence but the numbers suggest that staff are just as likely to be injured as airline passengers.

Common Hazards At Airports Which Cause Accidents

The next few sections of this guide will show you the most common types of airport injuries that can lead to compensation claims including shuttle bus and tram accidents, food poisoning, luggage carousel accidents, escalator or travelator accidents and accidents that happen in airport shops.

If you can’t see the type of accident that you’ve had then don’t worry, these are just the most common types. If you’ve had any other type of accident, which was caused by somebody else, then please get in touch and we’ll happily assess your claim with you.

Wet Floor And Other Slips, Trips, And Falls

If you’ve slipped or fallen on a wet or slippery floor in Bristol airport, then you could seek compensation against the airport if the accident was their fault.

If the floor was wet or slippery but there were no warning signs used to highlight the risk, then you could claim. You could also make a similar claim if you slip whilst boarding the plane, but we’d need to ascertain exactly what happened as the airline may be responsible rather than the airport.

Bristol Airport Car, Tram And Shuttle Crashes

There are a number of different accidents involving vehicles which could happen at an airport including:

• A crash whilst travelling on a shuttle bus or taxi
• A crash in the airport car park
• A collision with an electric vehicle within the airport
• An accident on a bus, train or tram within the airport used to transfer you to a plane.

It can be quite tricky to understand who to make a claim against in some of these scenarios, but Legal Expert are personal injury lawyers with many years’ experience and can soon assess exactly what happened and who we believe was at fault so please make contact when you’re ready to begin a claim.

Baggage Carousel And Trolley Accidents

Baggage carousels can be the most boring part of any visit to an airport but even more so if you become injured while waiting for your luggage.

Accidents that can happen include luggage that falls from the carousel and injures the person it falls onto. If the luggage was not placed securely on to the carousel or piled too high which caused it to fall, then you could make a claim.

Also, if the carousel is damaged or poorly maintained it is possible to be injured when trying to retrieve your luggage on sharp edges or protrusions. If you’ve been injured whilst using a luggage carousel then please get in touch so we can see if you’ve got a chance of compensation.

Suitcase And Luggage Accidents

There’s no avoiding the fact that suitcases are everywhere at airports either large cases that are going to go in the hold or smaller suitcases used as hand luggage.

If you trip over a suitcase it can lead to serious injuries and completely ruin the rest of your trip. If the accident was caused by you not paying attention prior to the trip then you would not be able to claim but if the suitcase was left somewhere that it shouldn’t have been then you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Stair, Escalator, And Travelator Accidents And Injuries

There are a number of scenarios involving stairs, lifts, escalators and travelator that could lead to a compensation claim such as:

• Getting trapped in a lift or the lift doors.
• Tripping and falling down stairs because of damaged or missing handrails (banisters).
• The escalator or travelator failing to stop when the emergency button is pressed.
• Clothing or limbs being trapped in spaces between escalators.
• Falling when a lift stops suddenly or tripping when exiting the lift as it hasn’t stopped flush with the floor level.

If you’ve had an accident at Bristol airport that involves any of the above situations, then you could be eligible for our no win no fee compensation service.

Bristol Airport Shops And Eateries

For your information, here are some of the popular shops and restaurants at Bristol Airport:

• JD Sports
• Dixons
• Accesorize
• World Duty Free
• Superdrug
• Claire’s
• WH Smith
• The Book Shop
• Starbucks
• Upper Crust
• Burger King
• Bar Burrito
• Cabin
• Eat
• Frankie and Benny’s
• Brunel Bar and Kitchen
• Costa Coffee
• Warrens Bakery
• Ritazza

If an accident occurs in any one of these establishments then the claim may be against the operators rather than Bristol airport. Our team will assess your claim and offer advice on the next steps to make prior to a claim.

Bristol Airport Work Accident Claims

As is the case in any workplace, employers at Bristol airport have the same duty of care to its employees to ensure their safety while at work.

Airports are busy locations and probably require more stringent health and safety procedures to protect staff. Ways in which staff could claim their employer was negligent could include:

• Lack of proper training (or training not being refreshed)
• Lack of safety equipment
• Damaged safety equipment
• Not repairing damaged equipment
• Not allowing employees to take breaks while on duty

Call Legal Expert if you believe you were injured at work and you believe your employer was at fault.

Personal Injury Claims For Baggage Handler Accidents

When you’re employed as a baggage handler your employer should take a number of steps to ensure you are working in safe environment and put procedures in place to prevent injury.

Some of the things that could be done to protect baggage handlers include:

• Train staff in manual handling procedures as well as using machinery to assist with lifting.
• Providing protective work clothing and equipment (PPE) such as hard boots, hard hats etc
• Rotating staff through the different tasks
• Providing a rest room and allowing for suitable rest periods
• Risk assessing processes regularly, even for processes that have been done for many years.

If you work as a baggage handler and have an accident at Bristol airport, then you may be entitled to make a claim against your employer so please get in touch if you believe your accident was not your fault. We can also tell you all about personal injury claims in more depth.

Food Poisoning And Allergic Reaction Illnesses

Food poisoning can cause illnesses which can ruin a holiday or business trip and is usually caused by food not being stored, prepared, cooked or reheated correctly.

All of the eateries, restaurants, cafés and bars listed above will have health and safety procedures in place to prevent customers becoming ill when eating there but, as always, procedures aren’t always followed. This could be down to staff negligence or faulty equipment like refrigerators, microwaves or ovens that have not been reported or repaired.

Another serious injury that can be caused is when somebody with a food allergy eats a meal that contains an allergen, but it was not highlighted to them by packaging, staff or the menu. Some of allergies can lead to serious injuries and even fatalities where the claimant goes into anaphylactic shock.

If you’ve suffered an allergy or food poisoning following a meal at Bristol airport and you’ve been treated by a doctor, then Legal Expert could help you to claim compensation so please get in touch today.

What Is The Best Way To Start A Personal Injury Claim?

At the time of any accident there are a number of steps you could take to help make a compensation claim easier including:

• Seeking medical treatment: This will ensure medical records are created which will detail the injury and its severity.
• Photograph the scene: This can be used as evidence to back up your claim, especially if it clearly shows the root cause of your accident.
• Ask for witness details: We can contact any witnesses and obtain statements from them as to what they saw at the time of the accident.
• Report the accident: This could be either to the airport staff, shop or restaurant staff. They should log the accident in some sort of reporting software or book, and you can ask for a copy of the report. Failing that, take the name of the person who you reported the accident to.
• Contact Legal Expert: Do this as soon as you can as there are time limits to making any compensation claim in the UK, but you can probably wait until you return from your trip.

You may not have time to complete all of these steps if your flight is due to leave soon but the more you can do, the easier your claim will be.

Damages You Can Claim After An Accident At An Airport

As with all compensation claims, those made following an accident at an airport can contain a number of different elements:

• General damages – an amount of compensation for the pain and suffering caused.
• Medical costs – an amount of money to compensate you for the cost of any medicines or treatments.
• Care costs – an amount of money to compensate you if you have to pay somebody to care for you while recovering from your injuries.
• Travel costs – You could claim back any additional travel costs such as re-arranging your flight or travelling to and from medical appointments.
• Personal property costs: If any item of personal property is damaged during your accident then you could claim the cost of repair or replacing the item.
• Loss of earnings – If you need to take time off from work while recovering and your employer doesn’t pay full sick pay, then you could claim back the difference. If you require long term treatment or need to change roles because of your injury, then you could also claim for future loss of earnings.

If you do incur any financial losses because of the accident and subsequent injuries, then you should provide receipts or bank statements to help make the claim easier.

Airport Personal Injury Compensation Calculator

As there are so many different elements of a compensation claim it’s difficult to provide an estimate without assessing your claim first, so please get in touch with us for more information.

That said, we can give an idea of the amount of compensation you could be awarded under the general damages element of your claim using the table below:

This table provides a sample of the injury claims that you may make (so don’t worry if yours isn’t listed. As you can see, each injury has a range associated with it starting from basic to severe. It is the job of your personal injury lawyer to provide medical evidence that supports the true severity of your injury, without this evidence you may be awarded less compensation than you actually deserve.

No Win No Fee Bristol Airport Personal Injury Claim Calculator

Our no win no fee service is actually very simple, but a lot of clients tell us that it enables them to make a claim as they actually never have to send any payment to us.

The claim begins with a free consultation where we assess your chances of successfully claiming compensation. If we believe you have a good chance, then we draft a no win no fee agreement which states an agreed percentage of your compensation that we’ll retain if we win the case.

If we do win the case, then we retain the agreed percentage and send the rest of the compensation directly to you. If we lose the case, you don’t have to pay anything at all for our services.

We believe that this makes claiming stress free and risk free when compared with a more traditional legal agreement where you pay the solicitor an hourly rate regardless of whether they win compensation or not.

How Our Legal Experts Can Help You To Claim Damages

Here at Legal Expert, we have a panel of specialist personal injury solicitors with many years’ experience making claims on behalf of our clients.

The team are professional, friendly and available for you to contact throughout your claim so that you can ask them any questions as they crop up.

We strive to win compensation for all of our clients and only work on a no win no fee basis. We’re honest and up front about the chances of success and would never take on a case that we don’t believe could be successful.

How To Contact Our Team

If you’ve had an accident at Bristol airport and have decided that, after reading this guide, you’d like Legal Expert to make a compensation claim for you then there are a number of ways to begin your claim:

• By Telephone: Call the team today on 0800 073 8804
• By Email: Send a message to info@legalexpert.co.uk and we’ll get back to you at a suitable time.
• By Live Chat: Our specialist advisers are available 7 days a week directly from this website.
• By Online Form: Fill in this easy form and we’ll begin your claim.

When you make contact with us, we’ll begin by offering a free, no obligation, assessment of your claim. We’ll be honest and tell you our thoughts and, if we agree that you have a good chance of winning compensation, we’ll offer a no win no fee agreement for all cases that we take on.

Additional Links

Hopefully this guide about accidents that happen at Bristol airport has provided you with all of the information you require to help you decide whether to make a claim or not. Here are some more relevant guides that may provide more information to assist you:

Food Poisoning Guide – a guide by the NHS that provides details about the causes and treatment of food poisoning.

Health and Safety at Work Act – the legislation provided by the government to protect all employees in their workplaces.

Airport Accident Claims – a similar guide to this one but more generic, it covers accident claims at any airport, not just Bristol.

Slip, Trip and Fall Claims – this guide shows how Legal Expert can help with any type of slip, trip or fall claim.