Supermarkets can be like obstacle courses sometimes – what with cages, boxes and staff everywhere you turn! So what happens if one of these obstacles unfortunately causes you to have a nasty fall and consequently injure yourself? The answer – you are entitled to claim for compensation!
I am not going to pretend that these are the easiest cases we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers, as that simply would not be true. These cases come under something called the Occupier’s liability Act which means that the occupier of any premises has to ensure that the area is safe for lawful visitors. Leaving boxes hanging around in the aisles certainly does not appear to adhere to this principle.
The main reason that these claims can be difficult is simply because the occupier does have a good defence available to them if they can prove they have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the area is safe.
Reasonable is a funny word and unfortunately there is no sure fire definition of what it means (of course there is plenty of case law and long judgments debating this but I won’t go into this here).
Therefore, if the area where you have fallen has been inspected 5 minutes prior and there was no box and then someone has put a box there it can be difficult to establish what would have been more reasonable then checking that area every hour?
So one of the most important things to think about with these accidents it getting it reported!
Ensure that the supermarket management or staff complete an Accident Report Form (ARF) so that the accident is logged (a clear sign that it did happen!) Another thing to request is CCTV footage – now this can really make a case – if CCTV footage shows a box has been left for the good part of a full day before your accident it is likely that this evidence can overturn any defence proposed by the defendants.
Injuries sustained from tripping over boxes can be quite serious especially if you already suffer from a pre-existing injury. Please note that you are still able to claim for a pre-existing injury if it has been exacerbated as the defendant has to find the victim as he finds them – so if you dislocate a shoulder that has just had recent surgery – do not worry that it may have been “injured anyway” – you are still entitled to claim.
It is always advisable to instruct your own personal injury solicitors rather than dealing with supermarkets direct – they often try to send flowers, choccies or gift cards… However, this is peanuts in relation to what you could be entitled to in real compensation amounts.
