Keep the Shopping Aisles Clear!

 

Barbara was shopping in Tesco when she caught her foot in nylon banding tape, protruding from one of the store’s wheeled cages from which staff load the shelves.

Barbara fell heavily upon her knees and having been treated by the First Aid officer, made her way home. 

Shops have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their visitors and once a visitor suffers an injury in a store due to an obstruction or a slippery substance on the floor,  causing them to fall, the burden on the store is heavy.  Effectively the store must show that the accident was not their fault. Shoppers have to take care of themselves, but shops display their goods in such a way as to attract the attention of shoppers, who are not required to walk the aisles staring at their feet to guard against hazards!

Supermarket chains such as Tesco face thousands of claims each year,  they have liability insurance to face these claims and their lawyers are expert in dealing with them.

Barbara’s case was not one they contested.  They made a “pre-medical” offer of £1750. A pre-medical offer is one made before the defendant insurer has seen a medical report on the claimant’s injuries.  As claimant lawyers, we do not like pre-medical offers because they are usually prejudicial to the accident victim.   It puts the victim under pressure to take the offer (they may face a costs penalty if they do not later beat it) at a time when the long term injury suffered cannot yet be determined.

In Barbara’s case we looked carefully at the GP records and were able to advise that she would not better the offer if it went to court although the insurers were persuaded to increase it to just under £2,000.

The insurers also paid Barbara’s costs in full (this was a case started under the old costs regime).