Summer is over and many of us will have attended a festival or other organised outdoor event. However outdoor events continue throughout the year, including Bonfire Night events, football matches etc. Most events are entirely positive experiences. But what if your experience at an outdoor event ended in injury? Can you make a claim and who do you claim against?
What are the risks?
Some of the risks that event organisers need to consider are:
- Crowd control/crowd behaviour
- Alcohol consumption
- Inadequate staff/security
- Inadequately-trained staff/security
- Poor/improper maintenance of stage/structures
Liability
Such a claim would fall under Occupier’s Liability and a party will be deemed to be an occupier if they have sufficient control over the premises (Occupier’s Liability Act 1957). Event organisers have a duty to ensure that members of the public who attend these events are kept reasonably safe for the purpose of their visit. If a claim is brought, event organisers will have to show that they properly considered the risks for the event and mitigated against them as much as they could. This would include showing policies around alcohol consumption and crowd control, training documentation for staff/security and documentation regarding the safety and maintenance of equipment and structures that are part of the event, such as stages, speaker towers, even perhaps, portable toilets.
Matters can be complicated when an incident occurs at an outdoor event as there are often various event organisers and security companies involved, but we can make investigations on your behalf to find out who is responsible for your accident.
What steps should you take if injured at an outdoor event?
First and foremost, seek medical treatment and have the incident recorded in an accident report. Get a copy of the accident report if possible once completed. Try and get details of independent witnesses who can attest to crowd issues, security/staffing issues or other event problems. Where the injury has been caused by faulty or poorly maintained equipment, take clear photographs of the equipment and take clear photographs of your injuries. It also might be useful to go online afterwards and see if you can find any reviews/video footage of the event that can support your claim.
Stephensons can assist with a claim for injury at an outdoor event. We are able to accept cases under a ‘no win no fee’ funding arrangement and you can contact us for an initial conversation with no upfront cost or obligation. Call our new business advisors on 0161 696 6235 or complete our enquiry form.
By Angeline Holmes, paralegal
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