I am considering pursuing a claim for injury I sustained as a result of an accident in a public theatre. Last week, my wife and I went to see a play in a theatre in the city centre. About half way through the performance I was struck by a small piece of metal that had fallen from the tier above, cutting my cheek. Am I entitled to pursue a claim for compensation?
A claim for an injury sustained as a result of an accident in a public theatre is possible if a person other than you was responsible for the accident – meaning whoever was at fault for allowing the piece of debris to fall on you. In your case, this could be the company that owns the theatre.
The first step after a sustaining an injury is to receive medical treatment. A visit to the nearest hospital’s Accident and Emergency department will allow you to not only safeguard your health, but to get your injuries recorded and documented – papers that will be vital to any attempt to retrieve compensation from the negligent party. It is important to note that if you do not seek medical treatment immediately after being injured, and for example stayed for the rest of the show, you may be judged to have contributed to your injuries, placing your claim for compensation in jeopardy.
You should also gather as much evidence from the scene as possible. Taking the names and contact details of witnesses could be vital to backing up your claim for compensation, as could any photographic evidence. Because of the nature of where the accident took place, it is possible that the accident was captured on video, either by the theatre company itself or by another attendee (if recording was permitted).
The amount of compensation you receive depends for a claim for an accident in a public theatre depends on a number of factors, with the nature and severity of the injury and its permanency among the factors that will be taken into consideration. These could be particularly important in your case, where a facial wound has been sustained.
In order to ensure you are awarded as much compensation as possible for your claim you should speak to a solicitor who specialises in personal injury cases. A solicitor will walk you through the steps needed to ensure that your claim has the best chance of success and provide you with more details as to how much compensation for a claim for an accident in a public theatre you are likely to receive.