Claims against shops:‘I only went in to get some veg…’
Sue is on her way home from work, and decides to drop in to the local supermarket to pick up a few bits and pieces, so that she can have a nice tea with her family later on.
She decides she needs some carrots, and spots them on the veg counter, just a short distance away. She walks towards them, but the next thing she knows she is flat on her back, having fallen over.
Of course, she is shocked, but mainly embarrassed as people rush over to help her – and then she notices the sharp pain in her arm – she can’t move without it hurting. Someone gets a chair but as Sue is helped up, she notices the squashed tomato on the floor by her feet. “That’s what she slipped on” a kind gentleman says to the shop worker, who has arrived.
Before Sue realises, she is on her way to hospital, where she is given immediate pain killers and her arm is Xrayed. ‘Yes, it is broken – I’m afraid we will have to operate and you’ll be out of action for a while’.
Sue tries to reach her husband at work, but he has just started his new job 45 miles away, so she has to phone her Mum to ask her to pick up the kids from school. Her Mum cancels her own plans for the evening.
Sue doesn’t make it home for her tea that night, but gets out of hospital the following day- and that’s when her problems really start to hit home. Sue can’t drive for 6 weeks at least. Who will pick up the kids from school each day? She won’t be able to go to her work as a carer in an Old folks home – and her boss won’t pay her. How will they pay the bills? How will they pay the mortgage? Put petrol in the car? Pay last month’s credit card bill?
How will she even get dressed each day? Her Mum would help, but isn’t it next week that her Mum goes on holiday?
Sue starts to feel angry- she only went to get some veg for tea. She decides to phone the store to complain, but the Store manager denies all knowledge, saying nobody has made a note of any incident in the store yesterday.
Sue can’t believe what he is saying and starts to feel desperate – and now her arm is aching again. The doctor said she would need some physiotherapy before she could go back to work , but said there was a long waiting list…
Sue doesn’t know which way to turn, but then she notices a piece of paper in her pocket – she remembers that the kind gentleman gave it to her when he helped her up in the shop, and said ‘there’s my name and address – just in case you need a witness…’
If you’ve been involved in a shop or supermarket accident, much of Sue’s story will sound familiar to you – but just what can Sue do?
Supermarkets and other shops have a duty to their customers like Sue, to ensure they are safe when they are visiting their premises. Sometimes vegetables and other items get dropped on the floor, and whilst stores cannot always know what is on every part of their shop floor, they should have some sort of inspection or cleaning policy to try to ensure hazards are removed.
Sometimes there are other hazards like boxes left in the way, or dangerous objects which don’t get put away when they should- and sometimes things don’t get put on shelves properly, and fall off…
So Sue could claim against the shop – but just what sort of things can she claim for?
- Her injury itself and all the pain she suffers
- The cost of any treatment she needs
- The cost of painkillers or prescription charges
- Her loss of earnings
- Cost of retraining if she loses her job
- Travel expenses to hospital and doctors appointments
- Care claim to compensate those who help Sue with everyday tasks like cooking, cleaning, or gardening, or personal care like dressing and washing
- And much much more…
Sue’s story is certainly familiar to us here at Russell Worth – we spend every day helping people get back to normal after an accident, and claiming what they are entitled to. So if you think we can help, just give us a call on our New Client Hotline 0800 028 2060.
