We have all seen the TV adverts for Marks & Spencer (M&S) sexy food and are aware of the lavish price tags that accompany their seemingly forbidden food. Well how about £300,000 for a grape? Accountant, Alexander Martin-Sklan, 55, from London claimed this is what the grape cost him after slipping on one in M&S’s car park.
Mr Martin-Sklan took his case before the High Court claiming that he was seeking £315,815 in damages after the accident with the grape left him depressed, shattered his confidence and his business suffered as well.
Mr Martin-Sklan lost his case against M&S. The eventual blame of the accident was laid on his own footwear for the accident and not M&S’s negligence of not tidying the car park as Mr Martin-Sklan had claimed.
The one thing about the case that has not really been picked up on is the fact that Mr Martin-Sklan was representing himself. He did not have the backing of an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Would it have been a different outcome if he had an injury lawyer batting his side? Perhaps that’s not the right question to ask. A better question to ask is why was he representing himself?
Did Mr Martin-Sklan think that he could do this under his own steam? Was his compensation claim turned down by injury lawyers / solicitors for not having enough hard evidence behind it?
I guess the media hype of personal injury lawyers always out either chasing ambulances or headlines took a large reality check with this case. You can bet the media won’t report it this way though.
The Injury Lawyers, experience matters when you need it most.