I Slipped In Sainsbury’s – Can I Claim Compensation?
Sainsburys is one of the largest supermarket chains within the UK and are very busy day in, day out. With the shop being so busy, accidents are naturally more likely to occur. The most common types of accident that might occur in supermarkets like Sainsburys are slip, trip and falls. It doesn’t matter if you are a member of staff, or member of the public, anyone could potentially slip in Sainsburys if the correct health and safety procedures are not put in place or actively being followed.
Sainsburys have a legal duty of care to anyone visiting or working on their premises, including outside areas such as the car parks, to provide a safe environment and take all necessary precautions in order to prevent an accident in a supermarket.
If you have slipped on water in Sainsburys, or simply had a fall in Sainsburys, no matter what the accident, if it was due to the negligence then you may entitled to make a Sainsburys compensation claim. Due to the complexity of the UK legal system and the process of making a claim, it is advisable to seek legal advice in order to give yourself the best possible chance of your claim being successful. Legal Expert cna provide you with one of our team of specialist personal injury solicitors that have a great deal of experience in supermarket injury claims, and can help you to get the compensation you deserve.
Please read through our guide to give you a better understanding of what making Sainsburys slip, trip, fall claims involves.
Select a Section
- A guide to slip, trip and fall on water in Sainsburys accident claims
- What are the most common causes of slip, trip and fall accidents in Sainsburys?
- Common injuries leading to slip, trip and fall Sainsburys compensation claims
- Liability for slipped on water in Sainsburys compensation claims
- How much compensation can I claim if I slipped on water in Sainsburys?
- How to make a No Win No Fee Sainsburys compensation claim for slips on water
- How to make a fall in Sainsburys compensation claim
- Useful Links
A guide to slip, trip and fall on water in Sainsburys accident claims
As mentioned, anyone, whether it is a member of staff, a store visitor or a customer, can potentially be at risk of slipping over in Sainsburys if they are negligent in their duty of care to provide a safe working and shopping environment.
Slip, trip and fall accidents may happen due to a number of different reasons, and cost the UK economy per year, millions of pounds. In fact, they cost employers in the UK £500 million every year!
The chart below shows that slip, trip and fall accidents are the most common accident causing injury. This chart is not statistics from Sainsburys.
If you wish to make a shopping slip trip fall claim, or an accident at work claim, do not hesitate to contact us at Legal Expert for help and advice.
What are the most common causes of slip, trip and fall accidents in Sainsburys?
There are a number of different reasons as to how someone may slip, trip or fall over in Sainsburys, although the most common in supermarkets is slipping over due to water or some sort of spillage being on the floor. However, although a lot of the accidents can be due to negligence of the store, in some cases it isn’t. For example, if you put something down, such as a basket, and then trip over it, the store could not be held liable as it was down to your own doing, but if you were to slip over due to a wet floor (without appropriate warning signs in place), or a spillage that hasn’t been cleared quickly enough, then it’s quite possible that the store could be held accountable and you could claim for compensation for a slip accident in a Sainsburys, providing you could prove they were at fault.
The most common causes of a slip, trip or fall accident in supermarkets like Sainsburys are:
- Wet floors
- Spillages of liquid, or food either in the shopping aisles or in-store café , on the floor that hasn’t been cleared or signposted with warning signs.
- Obstructions in the walkways.
- Uneven flooring or floor surfaces.
- Poorly installed flooring materials.
- Lift or escalator accidents.
Any of the above could happen to a member of staff, or a visitor or customer in the Sainsburys store. Regardless of whether you are an employee or customer, you have the right to make Sainsburys accident claims for an injury caused by accidents in Sainsburys that wasn’t your fault.
Common injuries leading to slip, trip and fall Sainsburys compensation claims
Many different injuries could occur due to having a slip, trip or fall accident in Sainsburys. The most common injuries sustained in slip, trip and fall accident claims are:
- Minor to severe bruising
- Cuts and grazes
- Fractured or broken bones
- Sprains and strains
- Concussion
For an elderly person, any of the above injuries could have a more severe impact on their physical and psychological health and the recovery time could be a lot longer than a younger, fitter person.
Liability for slipped on water in Sainsburys compensation claims
Just the same as any other supermarkets, shops or public places, in accordance with the Occupiers Liabilty Act 1957 and the Health and Safety at Work ect Act 1974 legislation, Sainsburys have a legal responsibility to provide a safe environment by having adequate health and safety practices actively in place to prevent any of their staff, or visitors to their store or premises, from having an accident causing them to be injured.
The majority of slip and fall accidents in supermarkets are due to water or food and drink spillages on the floor. Although health and safety policies in Sainsburys will instruct that they are cleared up immediately, it needs to be taken into consideration that staff do need a reasonable amount of time to firstly identify and then rectify the problem. In order to make a successful compensation claim against Sainsburys, you need to be able to prove that they were at fault which resulted in you becoming injured, for example, if you had slipped in Sainsburys on some spilt liquid, you would need to show that the staff had more than enough time to have either cleared it or signposted it with warning signs to avoid the area until they could clean it, but hadn’t due to negligence.
Proving liability can be tricky, but can most certainly be helped by taking a few simple steps such as:
- Recording your accident in the Sainsburys accident report book.
- Taking photos of the accident scene
- Get witnesses contact details if possible
By gathering as much information and evidence as possible will certainly help in proving your case and giving you a better chance of success.
How much compensation can I claim if I slipped on water in Sainsburys?
Unfortunately, we cannot give an exact figure as there are many different variables which will have an effect on the overall compensation amount awarded. Every case is different and there are more things to consider than just the severity of an injury when making a claim such as the financial impact it may have had due to loss of earnings or medical and travel expenses. The award will also depend on the expected recovery time and treatment being received and any psychological damage that may be present such as loss of confidence or in severe cases, PTSD compensation (post- traumatic stress disorder) if the accident was very severe.
However, we have put together a compensation table that simply shows you average previous award amounts given in relation to particular injuries.
| Reason for Compensation | Average Amount Awarded | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Neck Injuries – Minor -Severe | £1,950 – £118,240 | Injuries could range from slight muscular strains and soft tissue damage, to permanent muscular damage and possible fractured or broken bones causing loss of function and possibly paralysis. |
| Back Injuries – Minor – Severe | £1,950 – £128,320 | From minor disk and soft tissue damage, to severe damage limiting movement or causing possible paralysis with ongoing chronic pain. |
| Leg Injury – Minor -Severe | £7,270 – £108,370 | Simple breaks or fractures with full recovery given time, to severe injuries resulting in one or both legs being amputated. |
| Knee Injury – Minor – Severe | £10,960 – £76,690 | Slight bruising and minor sprains on the knee, to permanent loss of use of one or both knees. |
| Shoulder Injury – Minor – Severe | £1,950 – £38,280 | Slight soft tissue damage with temporary pain, to damage to the brachial plexus and / or fractures or full breaks that result in on going pain and a permanent disability. |
| Head Injury – Minor – Severe | £1,760 – £322,060 | Slight temporary damage to the brain such as concussion, to sever brain damage leaving the victim in a non- responsive and vegetative state. |
Please contact Legal Expert if you require more help and guidance with this matter.
How to make a No Win No Fee Sainsburys compensation claim for slips on water
All of the personal injury claim solicitors at Legal Expert offer a No Win No Fee service, otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. Basically, an agreement is drawn up between the solicitor and yourself and details the service we will provide and our fees and expenses that we require payment for should we win your case. It will quite clearly show that if we are not successful and do not win your claim, then you aren’t required to pay us anything. However, if we are successful in claiming your Sainsburys compensation, the agreement shows how our payment is collected. We simply take a small percentage from your award amount. We are legally only allowed to take a maximum of 25% and this will be included as an expense in your claim.
With Legal Expert’s No Win No Fee, there are no upfront or hidden costs and no financial gamble for our clients.
How to make a fall in Sainsburys compensation claim
If you have slipped in Sainsburys and sustained an injury as a result and believe that you are entitled to make a Sainsburys accident claim, then contact us at Legal Expert to start you compensation claim today.
When we receive your call, you will be offered a free consultancy session with one of our specialist personal injury claim solicitors where you can ask any questions you may have regarding the claiming process, and we can gather as much information from you as we can to ensure you have a valid claim. Once we are certain your claim is valid, with your permission, we will then begin making your claim on your behalf.
In order to make a start on your claim today, contact us on Freephone 0800 073 8804 to have a chat with one of our personal injury claim solicitors. Or alternatively, you can contact us here.
Useful Links
NHS guide on how a fall may take place and how to prevent it from happening.
Advice, guidance and tips on slips and trips in the retail sector.
Wet Floor Accident Compensation Claims
Find out if you can I claim compensation? Find out with our guide to wet floor accident claims.
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