Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To sue for this?

120 replies

BecauseYouR · 15/04/2018 07:49

Sorry, posting in AIBU for traffic, I don't know if I can even complain.

A week ago, I was in a supermarket and fell onto my bottom whilst carrying DS in a sling.

He screamed but wasn't hurt. I was in a lot of pain, lower back and bottom.

I was helped up and got a firm apology from the manager, I believe. Then I went to A&E with my MIL because I couldn't walk properly/stand up straight.

Turns out it's Saxr

OP posts:
OllyBJolly · 15/04/2018 09:05

How much would make it worth a lawsuit? No earnings to lose, no other costs incurred (eg had to hire help at home), no job that can't be performed...

So when quantifying compensation the only case that can be made is for pain; which other posters have said is temporary. Not likely.

Best you can hope for OP is to write to store and you might get a voucher.

elisenbrunnen · 15/04/2018 09:05

My NDN exhibited signs of a major heart problem; was taken into hospital and had some quite invasive operations - which found nothing.

Their first instinct was to sue. Angry

Highhorse1981 · 15/04/2018 09:05

10 Years liability claims experience here

Yes you have a valid claim. I would certainly progress.

OliviaStabler · 15/04/2018 09:06

Just because there was liquid on the floor, does not mean the shop was negligent. Someone could have spilled their own personal drink on the floor seconds before you slipped. You'd have to prove that the supermarket did not take reasonable care in the state the floor to have any chance at a pay out. Do you have photos of the spill? Independent witnesses?

Highhorse1981 · 15/04/2018 09:07

They key is to move quickly.

Possibly on CCTV. Your solicitor will progress that.

jaseyraex · 15/04/2018 09:07

There's not really any harm in making a claim but you'll need to prove that it was the supermarkets fault which is incredibly difficult to do. Someone could have spilled something five minutes before you slipped and not told any staff to clean it up, and on the other hand someone could have spilled something an hour before you slipped and told the staff to get someone to clean it up but the staff didn't bother. You can't really prove either way. Even if you filled in an accident report and have witnesses etc, if the spill wasn't a direct fault of the supermarket then they will not take any blame for it. Rightly so, I guess. You could possibly have a private exchange with the supermarket and see if they'd pay for any private treatment if you need it, but I think that's the least I would expect. Hopefully your injury will get better over time.

FASH84 · 15/04/2018 09:07

You still need contents insurance OP, not to cover this but for other eventualities. Also a lot of CCTV is recorded over after a period of time, sometimes days, weeks, a month at most which is why you need to contact the shop

PinkbicyclesinBerlin · 15/04/2018 09:10

OP get legal advice. You will get all kinds of virtue signalling here on MN. But if you are being financially impacted by this or going to be financially impacted by this then you have to personally weigh up the legal pros and cons for your own situation. People on MN having personal views on our litigious society really shouldn’t have a bearing on your decision. They can take those up with their MPs.

DaisyDoo80 · 15/04/2018 09:11

An elderly lady friend of my mum fell on a grape and broke her hip in a supermarket.

She tried to sue and got nowhere ( the supermarket did send her some flowers and chocolates). Unless the supermarket have been negligent it's not their fault. It is unreasonable to expect a member of staff to stand by the grapes in case one is dropped.

In your case it is unreasonable for someone to be stood waiting for and person or child to spill water. If it had been reported and not cleaned up that would (possibly) be different.

Sometimes accidents are just that. Unfortunate but nobody to blame.

OnionKnight · 15/04/2018 09:13

Kind of off topic but you need contents insurance at least.

ORIam · 15/04/2018 09:18

Do you think you would have seen the spillage if you had not been wearing the sling?

Was just about to say the same thing. I never liked carrying mine on my front for that very reason. It's like being heavily pregnant, you can't see directly in front of your feet.

MrsTylerJoseph · 15/04/2018 09:19

It’s only been a week, it’s far too early to know how this will heal. I have SI joint pain, there’s a lot of exercises which you can do to help. Curtesy squats, foam rolling, steps up making sure you use your glutes not your quads, stretching. See a physio, get some exercises.

TheFirstMrsOsmond · 15/04/2018 09:21

I can't even bend down to pick up my baby, that to me is worthy of some sort of compensation if it carries on

It 's not this simple - as previous posters have said, you would have to prove negligence on their part and spend money in the process on solicitor's fees, without any certainty you would win

GreenItWas · 15/04/2018 09:25

I can't see how you can prove negligence. Just because they immediately cleared it up doesn't mean they knew about it. If anything, cleaning it up immediately shows they care. I would say the moment has passed and if you are self funding this I wouldn't throw good money after bad especially in light of the fact you were wearing a sling. Their lawyers would argue you had blocked your own view.

ClaraLaMoine · 15/04/2018 09:32

OP I am all for people suing when things go wrong but I think "Big companies have insurance for this sort of thing" is a pretty poor attitude to have.

What is your actual injury? Do you have scans or x rays to show damage? If so, you simply have pain which whilst terrible, you are likely to heal from.

@OllyBJolly has hit the nail on the head with this one.

Petal12 · 15/04/2018 09:33

I work in this field and have done for some time, you certainly have the basis to pursue a claim and investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. However, recompense is not a slam dunk. The shop have invited you onto their premises and owe you a duty of care but following from there will depend on when the spillage occurred, who did it and when the staff knew about it, if at all? They will need to demonstrate a regular cleaning and inspection regime.

starzig · 15/04/2018 09:39

It was an accident, get over it. You are being self entitled and greedy.

crisscrosscranky · 15/04/2018 09:41

What exactly will you sue for? It happened a week ago and you're not currently working (presumably may leave) so no loss of earnings. You are giving up a job - regardless of reasons- so will find it difficult to prove the injury has resulted in loss of employment; the supermarket's lawyers will argue that you were unemployed of your own fruition and therefore would only recompense medical and legal costs- i.e you'd see nothing.

If you want to progress, I would strongly advise you not to resign from your current employment even if you have to be signed as sick.

bellsbuss · 15/04/2018 09:48

Contact a solicitor if you want to, that's your decision and nothing to do with anyone else

bellsbuss · 15/04/2018 09:48

Contact a solicitor if you want to, that's your decision and nothing to do with anyone else

BMW6 · 15/04/2018 10:11

If the supermarket contests your claim and win in court can you afford the thousands of £ that you may be ordered to pay in costs?

Justmyownself · 15/04/2018 10:18

Yes. You are VVU to sue for this.

Kids fall over and hurt themselves all the time. They dont feel tramautised or depressed because of it.

Surely, as an adult you must be able to rationalise the event. You weren't paying attention and slipped on a wet floor. Big deal. If you slipped on a wet pavement would you sue the council? Of if you tripped on your stairs would you sue yourself?.

Shit happens! That's life. But to sue over a wet floor! Jesus! Give me strength!

SaucyJane · 15/04/2018 10:24

Evidentially you might find it difficult. If they have CCTV it would help as whilst it might not be clear enough to show what you slipped on, it should show the staff erecting a "wet floor" sign after you slipped, as you say they did. So you might want to get a lawyer and ask for any footage asap before it's deleted.

Similarly proving a loss might be difficult at this stage - you might need to wait and see the long term effects (hopefully there won't be any, as this is far better than a big claim!).

Ethically - whether you think it's a valid claim is up to you.

Catspaws · 15/04/2018 10:26

Worth speaking to a solicitor OP, they're really the only ones who can tell you. If you do, go for a no win no fee or you'll potentially lose a lot of money.

Catspaws · 15/04/2018 10:28

Also please don't listen to the reams of idiots in this thread who aren't personal injury lawyers and yet seem to think they know what they're talking about... Hmm

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.