Family adds compensation to their shopping basket
It has been revealed that the family of a pensioner who was injured by an automatic door failure in a shop, have been awarded their personal injury claim.
The compensation claim case was settled with an undisclosed sum, after the supermarket franchise admitted public liability.
The incident happened in May 2008, at the popular food store’s Long Row branch in Nottingham, during which the 84-year-old was knocked to the ground by a malfunctioning automatic door.
Sadly, the pensioner failed to recover fully from the subsequent surgery on her right leg, and in November was found dead in a collapsed state at her home.
Her daughter, who was the one to find her, said: “She had previously been admitted to hospital with past health problems and she had always been able to pick herself up and was very positive about life. The trauma that she went through shook her greatly, causing her health to deteriorate.”
Although the accident claim had been initiated by the victim, it was continued on her behalf by her family following her death.
The family’s personal injury lawyer stated:“She suffered terrible injuries from the accident as a result of the faulty automatic doors which shut unexpectedly and forcefully, exposing an elderly lady with existing medical conditions to severe pain, suffering and distress.”
A spokesperson for the supermarket commented: “The safety of our staff and customers is always our priority. This was a terrible accident that we investigated fully at the time and this is now settled with the family.”
Accident down the aisles
In further news, a female shopper has won £10,000 in damages, after she fell over a low lying base tray that was next to the shelving in a shop.
The warehousing aid had small wheels on it and was used for moving bread crates around the store and had been left unattended in the shopping aisle by one of the bakery workers.
The accident occurred when the claimant placed her foot right onto the tray and she was immediately swept off her feet falling to the floor.
As a result, she suffered soft tissue injuries in the fall. The injuries aggravated an underlying arthritic condition and caused her severe problems with day to day tasks and activities.
Her lawyers won her the claim amount after the store admitted that the crate equipment was a hazard to shoppers, due to its position and proximity in the aisle.
Injury in shop
In similar news, a boy has been awarded damages after he was injured in a shoe shop.
The victim was hit by a drawer of a stock trolley, whilst he was in a sports shop.
He suffered a “very deep” four inch cut that has left a scar, and his shirt was also torn in the accident.
The company said the accident was caused by the boy’s carelessness and was not foreseeable. But they accepted the worker had failed to properly look out for customers and had not been trained to use the trolley.
However, the judge ruled in the favour of the boy and he was awarded over £1,000 in compensation settlement.
Updated on 6/3/2010