Slips, trips and falls are the most common type of accidents that happen in shops and supermarkets. Such accidents usually take place when the normal systems of inspection and cleaning fail to operate properly, usually due to staff shortages or poor store management.
Accidents are most likely to happen at peak times when premises are crowded, and shops need to plan their system of inspection and cleaning accordingly. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report found that one store achieved a two-thirds reduction in slipping accidents simply by changing the lunch break of their cleaning staff to a non-peak time.
Visitors to shops are broadly protected under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, which requires that owners take all ‘reasonable’ measures to ensure their premises are ‘reasonably safe’ for their ‘lawful visitors’. This will involve formulating and enforcing an adequate system of inspection and cleaning.
The basic principle for employees is that spills and similar hazards should be eliminated as soon as they become evident. Where this is not possible, warning signs should be erected to form a barricade to protect visitors. Hourly inspections should take place to minimise the risk of slip and trip accidents.
Customer Fell Over Pallet in Shop
A client was hurt after falling over a pallet of goods waiting to be stacked on a display rack. The pallet had been left lying near the checkout area of the store. Mrs T tripped after not seeing the edge of the pallet, as she was carrying heavy shopping bags and chatting to a friend at the time of the accident. She sustained lacerations and bruising to her leg from falling onto the pallet, as well as torn muscles in her shoulder.
The companion with whom she was shopping reported the accident to the shop staff, and Mrs T was later taken to hospital, where one of the cuts on her leg required stitches, she was ordered to rest for a week while her strained muscles healed. She subsequently required private physiotherapy treatment, and did not regain full mobility in her upper arm and shoulder for six weeks, while the scar left by the cut on her leg did not fade for months afterwards.
After reading about our experience of claims against the major retail groups, Mrs T instructed us to sue the shop for her fall. The legal basis for Mrs T’s claim was, essentially, that the pallet of products should not have been left lying in the path of customers approaching the store’s checkout, as it was otherwise entirely foreseeable that a shopper would trip over it and injure themselves.
This meant the store was in breach of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, as it had failed in its duty to keep Mrs T reasonably safe while visiting the premises. Within six months of starting her claim with our firm, the shop’s legal representatives admitted partial liability for Mrs T’s injuries, and she later received a cheque for £3,250 in personal injury compensation.
Customer Tripped Over Ramp in Shop
A recent client of Bartletts Solicitors successfully claimed compensation from a national retailer after he was injured while queuing to enter a shop. Mr T was moving forward in the queue when he tripped over the edge of a metal ramp and fell forwards, injuring his shoulder and hip in the fall. The accident was the result of an uneven surface, which was obviously unsafe and should have been recognized as such by the store and its staff.
Mr T was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and severe bruising to his hip and down the right side of his body. He recovered fully within the space of a few weeks, but experienced various difficulties in his everyday life during that time, as well as pain and discomfort from his injuries. Mr T contacted Bartletts Solicitors to discuss his situation, and our firm subsequently represented him in a no win no fee claim against the retail chain.
We argued that the ramp, which had been intended to ease access to the store, had actually created an obvious tripping hazard. The store had breached the duty of care that it owed to Mr T as a visitor by exposing him to the clear risk of being injured in the shop queue. We were able to obtain an admission of liability before starting court proceedings, and Mr T received £4,500 in compensation for his injuries.
Customer Slipped in Frozen Goods Aisle
Mrs O was out shopping with her granddaughter when she slipped and fell on a spillage in a shop’s frozen goods aisle. She was in considerable pain and could not get up, so her granddaughter called for assistance. Store staff came to help and called an ambulance to take her to hospital, after which the supervisor recorded the incident in the shop’s accident book.
Mrs O was taken to hospital where it was found that she had torn ligaments in one knee and had sustained further soft tissue damage in her ankle. She was discharged the following day, but was still experiencing mobility difficulties three months later, and in her doctor’s opinion will have a residual weakness in her knee that is likely to affect her for life.
Mrs O contacted Bartletts Solicitors for legal advice after reading about our experience in suing for slips and falls. We advised her to proceed with a claim on the basis that, whatever the cause of the spillage, the retailer’s aisle had been slippery at the time of Mrs O’s visit, and it was reasonably foreseeable that a customer could slip, fall and and injure themselves. Because the accident had been recorded by the shop supervisor there was little doubt as to the circumstances. The retailer accepted liability for the accident, and Mrs O received £6,500 compensation for her injuries.
Customer Broke Wrist Falling Down Stairs
A client was injured after he fell down a short flight of stairs at a shopping centre. Mr F tripped over a piece of frayed carpeting at the top of the stairs and fell forwards, breaking his wrist and sustaining a concussion. An ambulance was called by a shop attendant who had witnessed the accident, and Mr F was taken to hospital where a splint was applied to his wrist and he was kept in overnight for observation.
The bones in Mr F’s wrist took over four months to set properly, and he experienced considerable physical difficulties during that time. Mr F later returned to the shopping centre to complain, however, the frayed carpeting had by then been repaired and the owners of the premises refused to accept responsibility for the accident. Due to the severity of his injuries, and the lack of response to his complaint, Mr F decided to seek legal advice.
Having discussed his case with Bartletts Solicitors, Mr F instructed our firm to begin a no win no fee personal injury claim against the owners of the shopping centre. We were able to obtain CCTV footage of the accident, and this showed our client tripping on a section of carpeting that was clearly in a defective and hazardous state. We also presented the shopping centre’s insurers with two witness statements.
By failing to ensure that the carpeting at the top of the stairs was in a safe state, the shopping centre had failed in the duty of care they owed Mr F as a lawful visitor to their premises, and this amounted to negligence. After a few months of correspondence, we were able to gain an admission of liability from the shopping centre’s owners and negotiate a compensation settlement with their insurers totalling £3,500.
Shop Accident Caused by Christmas Decorations
Ms H was shopping in a high street department store when she tripped over a trailing electric cable that was being used to power Christmas lights. The store’s staff had changed the display earlier in the day, and had left it set up with the main power cable lying across an aisle in the direct path of customers. Ms H fell awkwardly, spraining her wrist and badly bruising her arm.
Ms H received basic medical attention at the scene and was driven to hospital for an X-ray, after which a wrist brace with splint was applied. Ms H worked as a school dinner lady and was unable to return to work for two weeks following her injury. She continued to experience aching and weakness in the joint over three months later.
Ms H got in touch with Bartletts on the recommendation of a friend, and we advised her that she had a legitimate claim against the department store where the accident took place. We agreed to represent her on a no win no fee basis, and wrote to the store’s parent company, pointing out that it was its legal responsibility to keep public areas of shops free from obstacles and obstructions which could cause accidents.
In this instance, staff at the store had acted negligently by leaving the power cable directly in the path of Ms H, and this had directly caused her to trip, fall and injure herself. After a few months of correspondence, we won an admission of liability from the store and their insurers, and Ms later received £3,000 in compensation.
Making a Shop Accident Complaint
Many people are intimidated by the idea of making a claim against one of the supermarket giants, and having made an initial complaint, some will opt to let matters lie, especially if the retailer denies responsibility for an accident. Others however will decide to seek legal advice, and this is the critical first step in gaining the compensation that you may very well deserve. Solicitors will normally handle your claim on a no win no fee basis.
The first step to take following an accident at a retailer is to report the details to staff at the store, and make sure that the details are recorded in their accident book. They may subsequently get in touch to apologise, offer shopping vouchers, or send flowers, but often this will seem inadequate if an injury is relatively serious, and the blame appears to lie squarely with the store or its staff. In these circumstances, the injured party should seek a specialist legal opinion from a solicitor at the earliest opportunity.
Often a retailer will deny responsibility for an accident at the outset, and it will be the role of the solicitor to produce enough evidence to win an admission of liability. This may include witness statements, medical reports and photographs, all of which can be of assistance in verifying the facts surrounding an accident. It will be up to your solicitor to demonstrate that the shop or its staff were directly to blame for causing an accident due to their action or inaction and errors or omissions. Where this is the case they will have acted negligently, and will be liable to pay compensation.
Make a free compensation enquiry today
For specialist advice on your personal injury claim, call us now on Liverpool 0151 227 3391 or Chester 01244 645830 or Wrexham 01978 360056 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will soon be in touch.
