A pensioner who tripped on a metal stump in a supermarket car park in the Manchester area has been awarded a substantial five figure settlement after the supermarket admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. This case highlights the serious implications that can arise where poor construction and maintenance of a business premises can cause a member of the public to injure themselves.
The accident in question involved a 75 year old woman who tripped over a metal stump that had been left sticking out of the pavement in the car park. The stump had previously been used to anchor a metal bollard, which was removed by contractors after it had been damaged by a car. The contractor who removed the bollard was never instructed to remove the stump or to carry out remedial work such as covering the stump with concrete. Daily safety checks on the car park undertaken by supermarket staff went on for three months without anything being done to sort out the metal stump.
Accidents involving trips and slips can result in serious injuries, especially if the person involved was elderly, or physically frail. In this particular accident, the woman suffered injuries to her chin and lip, broken teeth and a broken hand. The judge presiding over the case said the supermarket’s health and safety policies had, “failed, and failed badly.” He went on to say: “What went wrong here was that there was a breakdown in communication between managers at the store and the system that comes in to make it good. It led to three months of inactivity. The eventual and inevitable happened and an elderly shopper tripped over the stump… and was injured.”
Ensuring employees and members of the public can have safe access to and from retail premises should be a top priority for all businesses. Where there are defects in the built environment, in a car park, on an access path or in the premises itself, action must be taken to remedy the situation so as to avoid potentially serious accidents, and heavy fines from the Health and Safety Executive. Businesses owe members of the public a duty of care so that they can use their premises without risk of injury.
Camps Solicitors have represented hundreds of clients who have suffered tripping accidents in car parks or retail premises. Our solicitors have the legal expertise necessary to make sure any claim for tripping accident compensation reflects the full cost to you of your accident, and the impact the injuries have had on your lifestyle.
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