Knee injury from a trip in Next

A client who injured her knees after a trip and fell whilst out shopping has been awarded almost £9,000 in an out of court settlement.

Our client was enjoying a day shopping, and after making a purchase, she tripped over a raised rug in the Next store in Manchester. She fell forward, injuring her knees, more specifically, her left knee.

After attending the Royal Oldham Hospital for treatment, our client had to wear a knee support and have physiotherapy on her knee. This resulted in her taking time off work at a busy bakery.

Trips and falls in supermarkets and shops

At Pearson, we often act for clients injured in public places and have many clients who have sustained a wide variety of injuries from slips, trips and falls in supermarkets and shops.

All shop operators have a duty of care to try and keep their customers, staff and visitors safe and must take reasonable precautions to do so.  However, a failure to do this gives clients the grounds to make a claim if they’re injured following a fall in a shop or other public place.

“Slip, trip and fall accidents are quite common and can sometimes have life-limiting consequences for clients who afterwards may need care and help with household tasks following their accident. Any personal injury compensation claims will take this and the need for any physiotherapy and other treatment into account,” said Solicitor and Head of Personal Injury Mike Talbot.

Shops and shopping centres are classed as public spaces and the store owners, whether multi-nationals or independent traders, as well as the shopping centre management, have to abide by health and safety laws to ensure it is a safe and hazard free environment.

Occupiers Liability Act

A claim can be made against the owner’s public liability insurance, as was the case against Next. The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 imposes this duty of care; therefore, all premises should be safe.

“In a store, rugs of this type should be fixed to the ground or taped down so as not to cause a tripping and slipping hazard.  Here the rug was a similar colour to the floor and as such was not as noticeable, it was scuffed up in places and clearly provided a tripping hazard for shoppers,” added Mike Talbot.

“The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 (OLA 1957) imposes a legal responsibility and a duty of care on occupiers to all lawful visitors to ensure that they are reasonably safe for the purpose for which they are on the occupier's premises, in this case, shopping.”

What to do if you have an injury or accident in a public place

You may just want to dust yourself off and go home and may be unsure about the action you ought to take, but a few simple measures can help your claim.

We advise clients to:

• Get medical attention if necessary
• Report the fall to a member of staff and get their details
• Get it recorded in the accident book, with the date, time and details of the incident
• Speak to any witnesses and get their names and contact number
• Take a photograph of the area where you had the accident. Most of us now have cameras on our phones so taking photos at the scene of an accident is often possible. If not, perhaps ask a witness to take a picture.
• Note if there were any warning signs
• Any CCTV footage could also be useful in your upcoming claim and when you instruct a solicitor, they can formally request it. Sometimes it is too late and the footage has been recorded over – if possible, look to see if it is in existence and ask for it at the time of the incident or as soon as possible.

How can we help?

At Pearson we offer a No Win No Fee service and a FREE initial chat, so if you have any questions about your Personal Injury claim why not contact us now on 0161 785 3500 or email enquiries@pearsonlegal.co.uk

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Please note that the information and opinions contained in this article are not intended to be comprehensive, nor to provide legal advice. No responsibility for its accuracy or correctness is assumed by Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers Ltd or any of its members or employees. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking, or refraining from taking, any action as a result of this article.

This blog was posted some time ago and its contents may now be out of date. For the latest legal position relating to these issues, get in touch with the author - or make an enquiry now.