To sue for this?

[BecauseYouR]

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

This happened to my mum about 4 month ago. She slipped in Asda on a clear spillage with no sign there to warn her or any9ne else. She damaged her knee and got a claim. Think she got about 3 1/2 grand.

That went to court very quickly and got settled

OP - did you intend to return to work fairly quickly - because i highly doubt you can sue for loss of earnings if youre taking 1 years maternity leave and you're 5 months in. And the company could also dispute that it wasn't that particular the fall you had in the supermarket that cause your Saxr - because, as you said earlier, big companies have insurance for this kind of thing and they might be more savvy to everyone trying to sue them. Dont get me wrong, i believe you are in pain, im just wondering if its that easy to sue/claim.

I would speak to a lawyer and see what they advise. Good luck.

You’ll struggle with the future loss of earnings thing. Even if you’d just had an interview, there’s no guarantee you’d have got that job. You’re on mat leave and presumably getting smp etc. You’ll still get that, so you haven’t lost anything financially yet.

You said in your second post "work for the NHS in London but can't go back to that position due to travel and finances. I was looking for a position closer to home before being due back but now cannot do so"

Now you say you can't return to your job because of your fall (one week ago).

Which is it?

criss when it comes down to it, does it matter?

The Op cannot return to work any time soon due to the slip. So her previously having complications about returning anyway are irrelevant and she'd be wise not to mention them

@newyear... it wasn't the fastest. They offered her 3 different things before they decided to offer her money.

Ranging from things from free store vouchers, to flowers and gift vouchers

Id go to a solicitor and outline the circumstances ASAP. Not because you have to pursue a claim, but the sooner things are noted and everything put together. Hopefully next week youll feel right as rain and not have a bother, but if youre not then putting things together asap is the most pragmatic thing to do.

NewYear the vast majority of claims never get near a court. They are settled between the insurance company and the TP solicitors.

There was a woman a few years back who got £20k for slipping on a grape in M&S food hall. You may have a case.

The nhs physios often have a no touch policing. Even if they don’t, what is on offer is woefully inadequate. Chronic pain sufferer here.
Based on my experience I would have to concur. What a shame.

The key to this is if there is cctv footage and if they could say that your wearing of the sling stopped you seeing any hazards. I for one hate wearing a sling as I couldn’t see over the top of my baby’s head

If you slipped on clear fluid, and there was no 'wet floor' sign then of course you can sue. They're liable for not cleaning it up and putting a sign there.

That's over-simplistic. If it goes to an investigation they will determine how long the fluid had been there for, what the shop's policy for dealing with spillages is, whether that policy is adequate and whether it had been correctly carried out in this case. They might also look at whether the shop could have reasonably done anything to prevent the accident.

If a customer spilled their water bottle 20 seconds before the OP slipped it's unlikely the store will be found liable. I suppose they might say they should have non-slip flooring but I expect most supermarkets already have this.

The key to this is if there is cctv footage and if they could say that your wearing of the sling stopped you seeing any hazards.

I very much doubt the sling will be a factor, unless there is a warning sign on the shop door saying customers wearing slings enter at their own risk. The wearing of slings is hardly unusual.

In the M&S case the store was found liable because they apparently should have only been selling grapes in "zipped bags". (Bizarre decision or what!?!?)

@insancerre yep, idiots. That's what a person is if they aren't a PI lawyer and yet think they have a right to bellow legal advice all over the place as if they have a single clue what they are talking about.

I actually am a lawyer, but not PI, and I wouldn't give advice to OP for that exact reason - I'm not a specialist (though I know enough to say with confidence that a lot of what has been said by PPs is just absolute bollocks)

Catspaws
This is a general discussion thread
Nobody has claimed to be an expert on the law
So, no, nobody posting is an idiot

Cant see what the supermarket has done wrong here. And as of yet you dont have any out of pocket expenses to sue for.

Most supermarkets provide trolleys you can strap your baby into, would you have fallen over if you had been using them? Perhaps if you sue for enough money babies in slings could be banned from shops on health and safety grounds.

This is ridiculous. It's only been a week and you're on mat leave anyway. Jesus wept

Sorry to hear you've been injured.

I used to work for a big retailer dealing with accident claims.

They are required to do hourly checks for 'slip/trip hazards'. This is documented.

If the hazard was there in between the checks then you won't have a claim. Legally it's unreasonable to expect every single hazard to be noticed immediately and cleaned up.

Customers drop things, and then minutes later someone comes along and unfortunately slips. It's not anyone's fault but an unfortunate accident.

You can contact the retailer to make a complaint, they'll check the slips/trips and if they are up to date, they'll say they are not liable.

You can then go to a solicitor but I can't see it going any further. We had loads and loads of this type of accident and very few were liable I'm sorry.

I tripped whilst wearing my baby in a sling walking up the road as the new shoes I had the heel came straight off (not even a high heel like an inch) lucky I managed to stop myself from falling over, if I had it wouldn't have even occurred to me to sue

You don't need home insurance to make a claim. If you've been injured & you suffer losses and there was negligence then go see a solicitor but go to somewhere that knows what they're doing. Try Irwin Mitchell - it is my employer - not my area of law at all - but market leaders for personal injury. Costs nothing to make an initial enquiry. sounds pretty horrid to me if you're in so much pain x