accident in morrisons supermarket

kiwigirl

I remember someone slipping on a grape a few years ago in local Tesco and she sued as she had broken a limb - can't remember what though.

I thought it supermarkets knew of a spill and hadn't got time etc to get signage, they left a member of staff in area to ensure no one got hurt?

I fell at work a few years ago, dislocated my shoulder and re-started an old injury which I had recovered from 6 years beforehand, it made the shoulder disclocate frequently - at least daily basis until I paid for operation myself as I couldn't wait the additional 9 months on waiting list - my surgeon told me it was worse than he expected when he operated and asked me how on earth I had managed to work in that pain and dislocations. I've recently had the payout from work and they stopped people using the stairs I fell on since, and had to pay me for damages and operation, I left a couple of months before that though.

You have to ensure that your MIL does go out a bit, just to keep her meeting people etc, a friend of mine his mum fell and broke her arm above elbow and she lost her nerve to go out and is now in a home and can barely use her arm so please ensure she gets physio / uses her arm when she's feeling up to it.

They should if your MIL aren't willing to sue, at least offer some vouchers as a good will gesture to them or even home delivery for a few months?

hawk

hankc35 wrote:

why dont you just tell your wife to look where she is walking next time?

i thanked you as you made me chuckle as maybe you should read posts properly, LOL it was the mother in law

:rotfl:

hollydays

Most shops would take this seriously.

hawk

ts_aly2000 wrote:

To those that assume that when they break their leg by slipping on a grape and there is no liability on behalf on the owners of the premesis..

Let's assume your stance is that of the store manager.

We'll see you in court.

just remember that someone infront of you may have dropped the grape so sue them in civil court for a person to person claim

Savvy_Sue

In fairness, they may not have known that the sweet was there, it may only have been found by your mil slipping on it. Which is no comfort to her!

But yes, if they were aware of something hazardous - say spilt milk - I'd expect them to have a member of staff standing guard over it until they got the yellow sign there, and the yellow sign would only be left unattended once the spill was properly cleaned up.

Poppy9

What do you want to happen next? Is it money or an apology you are after? IMO accidents happen (I know I slipped on a slippery floor on my first day of holiday last week and spent the week with a sprained ankle).

With regard to insurance claims I thought if it was a large spillage then you would reasonably be expected to notice it and therefore had a duty of care to yourself. If it's a very small spillage and not yet notice by staff or customers then I don't see how the supermarket can be held liable if it's not reasonable for them to have known of the spillage. Saying that though most small claims are settled before reaching court as it's cheaper than taking legal advice on their position. I know local authorities took this attitude for years over pavement trips but in recent years my LA has clamped down and now disputes every claim. They only pay up if the fault had been reported and they had not rectified in a reasonable time.

Poppy9

BBC has some useful information here with regard to claiming from various organisations.

hawk

ts_aly2000 wrote:

It doesn't matter. You have a premesis and have chosen to allow the public on that premesis. And with that comes certain responsibilities. I know most people don't agree with this, but that is the way it is.

Another thing I'll tell you about supermarkets. And that's if you came into the store with a loaf of bread with a razor blade in it. My objective would be to get that item off you as quickly as possible. I'd spill every last story in the the book, but once I have that item, there is NOTHING the customer can do about it as far as legal recourse goes. The item goes off to some central department and disappears. End result: Evidence Gone.

Trust me, I know every trick in the book, to get the liability away from US, and to stop YOU having any legal argument against us.

If you truly don't like any of this, then go on your merry way, break your legs, cut yourselves on the corners of shelves, and do nothing about it.

As I assure you most wholeheartedly, you ARE entitled to claim. That is the law!

And as for the OP here whose MIL had her collarbone dislocated. Breaking legs, dislocations, the poking out of the odd eye. Those lengths are a bit far to go for trying it on.

Debate it amongst yourself. I know I'm right, and I don't care if you think I'm not. I have the skills to protect myself and those around me, and if you decide to come onto a public forum and discount what you're being told because you don't like it, then I suggest you ask a solicitor for clarification. Or even run it by someone with responsibility in one of the larger stores. They will clarify this.

If you have the public on your premesis and someone gets hurt due to your negligence, you're liable. If you don't agree to this, then don't deal with the public.

:rolleyes:

You are totally missing the point, you seem to think that every shopper has a personal cleaner following them about they dont thats why a supermarket has to have a reasonable reaction time, also how can they act upon something they know nothing about, have you ever tried to find a lemonade spill from a cctv camera, its impossible to see, also if a member of public finds a spill they also have the responsibility to inform someone or stay by a spill and ask another member of the public or staff to sort it out but then again to many people want to rubber neck.

just remember we dont live in america so we have different laws thank god, also when someone claims just because they can it puts all of our premiums up so no-one is a winner we all lose out just remember that the next time anyone wants to claim, if however you have been injured by a clean case of negligence unlike a spill thats accidental, be sure to make a claim.

im sorry ts_aly2000 but it sounds that you would claim for anything and thats totally wrong.

Coupon-mad

I agree with ts-aly2000 on this one.

This is why premises have public liability insurance.

I used to manage a centre which was open to the public and everything has to be risk-assessed from a health & safety point of view (e.g. in the case of a supermarket I would expect a risk-assessment exists to show the Health & Safety Executive that the store has taken necessary steps to prevent such accidents. With loose sweets on display there's always the possibility that these can be dropped, as with grapes, etc.). But that does not mean that no claims can be pursued, it's a claim against the insurance not the store manager personally.

Also, if there were any failings on the part of the store, at least raising the issue would ensure steps would have to be taken to try to prevent anyone else suffering the same sort of fall in future.

Or, it may be no-one's fault, but the store still has the insurance to cover claims and I feel the MIL should take the matter up with the store manager - do we know if this was put in the accident book, it should have been? Then I would pursue compensation if it was my MIL, the accident caused a significant injury that could have longer-term health repercussions.

patchwork_cat

HI
I don't want to go against the grain of this post, but I personally hate this compensation culture. It has caused untold damage. Dr's who aren't in active practice will not stop at accidents in case something goes wrong and they do not have insurance for example.

People have always tripped on things and they will continue to do so. The law definately has it's place in stopping employers from making employees do dangerous things and to make shop keepers etc. keep there premises in reasonable repair, but a child dropping a sweet - that will happen and it is not the stores fault, IMO.

It is an accident and I feel as a result that it should not be in health and safety laws remit. There was an article on the news the other day where the HSO were saying that we are getting silly making children play conkers with safety specs on and it is exactly this compensation culture that has caused these silly rules.