To sue ASDA?!

[KnightlyMyMan]

Ok so maybe not actually sue- but to be very annoyed and shaken up?

This afternoon I was shopping in a (reasonably small) ASDA supermarket picking up items for my gran.

I turned an empty aisle and noticed a ‘cleaning in progress’ sign on one side. No visible spillage and the sign was only on one side so I walked around it (gave a wide berth), Boom, I was on the floor having landed heavily on my right knee.

My fiancé, who was with me, picked me back up and another middle aged chap came running up to help. He had just fallen himself, in the exact same spot as me! The floor was coated in a slippery oil based substance - it had stained his jeans.

A minute later an employee came running up apologising profusely - the chap told her off as she had ‘wiped’ the floor after he fell but obviously done a terrible job. As I hobbled away I saw her retrieve a bucket and mop.

I went to the customer service desk and manager was called- he was nice and apologised (gave me a nominal gift card) but I wasn’t in pain, just shaken and annoyed as had that been my very elderly grandmother or heavily pregnant cousin (who it would have been had I not volunteered) it would have been very dangerous!

Since I got home my knee has seized and is now bruised and swollen in a lump. I’m 25- fit and healthy - never had anything like this happen before. But I’m really annoyed that It did- I won’t be able to cycle to my office tomorrow 😒 and expect I’ll be sore for a while. I’ve never considered suing anyone for anything but think this could easily have been avoided!

@Nightgremlin the actually procedure is to stand by the hazard warning customers while another member of staff brings the cleaning equipment. However this doesn't work if you are the only member of staff in a department because only managers and greeters carry phones. You'd be standing there all day.

Telepathy or wands would be fantastic though would make it easier to do the job of 6 people too.

*actual

Honestly? I tripped over the kerb in a supermarket car park recently. It was dark and at least half of the car park lights were switched off, including those by the kerb I fell over. I cut and badly bruised an elbow and both knees, and was really sore for a week. I think I should have looked where I was going, but I will suggest to them that they should put all the car park lights on in case someone who is a bit frail trips on the kerb and really hurts themself. That's the extent of their responsibility I'd say.

I'm late to the thread so I'm posting something redundant now that op has calmed down but I do think that a warning sign 5 metres away from the 'danger area' isnt good management in the stores behalf.
I am careful around store warning signs but I take for granted its alerting to an immediate-ish area of the sign. 500cm is pretty far away. I can understand OP shock of a bad fall that far from the sign.

I actually think OP's original post was 100% reasonable (she made it clear she wasn't actually going to sue but was annoyed). The way the store set this up wasn't safe and she's right to pursue it to make sure it doesn't happen again. If you're going to be something so greasy on the floor that people will instantly slip over you need to close the aisle entirely and make sure it's wiped up when you're done. There should be a procedure in place to make sure that happens. A sign miles away doesn't cut it.

Customers have been known to move signs if they are in the way. It would be difficult to have 'a procedure' that covers every single spillage situation.

You can't have staff working in pairs 24/7 in case there's an incident. Also you can't have them carrying mops and buckets and yellow signs around.

Closing the aisle would have been the ideal but how feasible that is I don't know.

The customer that caused the spill may well have been leaving a trail of whatever it was around the whole supermarket.

Supermarket is liable, as customers we are not expected to do a risk assessment [although we do] as the supermarket are meant to have done it for us in order to guarantee a safe environment for customers. The sign can only be used as evidence against you if it was in the centre of the spillage and you deliberately walked into it. If you wish to claim for your injuries you are well within your rights to do so and as you made staff aware at the time then there should be no dispute.

@hellsgrandma “as customers we are not expected to do a risk assessment”

You are expected to exercise some basic common sense though. This is the bloody reason why we have to have notices that say “may contain nuts” on a packet of peanuts, ffs.

If corporations don't instruct their staff to place warning signs at or very near to where there is a spill, sure they might as well put a sign saying there is a spill on the way into the store and good luck to you!

To be fair, this is what every single car park I've ever been on does.
All possessions and vehicles are left at the owners risk and the private property owners accept no responsibility or liability for any damage or theft.
So they could just do similar at every supermarket "enter at your own risk, there is a possibility for spills, be vigilante as we accept no responsibility for any injuries caused on our property".
Job done.

Op..the sign was there as a warning. Why did you walk around it. You lucky they gave you a giftcard.

Get over it.

There was a sign, it was an accident and they apologised.

Back in about June I fell over a child's chair in my classroom, because they had it sticking out a bit far... My knee bruised heavily and was tender for a good 6 weeks.
Did I sue the child? No.
Did I sue the school? No.
Did I tell myself to be more careful in future? Yes.

To quote my late father, "it's people like you what cause unrest."

Im glad OPs calmed down, but even contemplating suei g.
The point of damages isn’t to ‘teach someone a lesson’, in fact, that’s exactly what damages is NOT, a form of punishment.
It’s to put you in the position you would have been in if the event had not have happened.
So, what is the monetary value of a bruise?
Just a nominal amount. I’d say worth a gift voucher.

Civic duty my ar*e

8 Years ago, I worked PT at Asda. One Sunday morning I slipped on a small spill of yoghurt that the cleaners had missed, and came down hard on my right knee. The following year I needed a total knee replacement- the knee cap had been displaced, and rubbed against the joint, and I developed arthritis. I sued them through a no win, no fee solicitors, and got £5000. More than I would have asked for, but that's what the solicitors suggested.

@sueelleker You were an employee, different situation.

Just another quick point because I see a lot of people taking about Asda's duty of care in this matter – although I can see the general consensus is that this duty was carried out – I think it's worth pointing out that cleaning and maintenance in Asda stores is outsourced to a company called CityAM. The cleaners aren't employed directly by Asda. So the fact that Asda gave you anything at all is simply not to lose your custom. Any litigation would immediately be handed off to City because as soon as that warning sign is up, they have no responsibility whatsoever.

So even if you were to attempt to claim for this, not only would you be laughed out of the court, you wouldn't even be making Asda think twice about their procedures because, ultimately, it's not their procedures.

My mum (in her 70s) fell and broke her leg in two places a couple of years ago because she tripped on uneven paving caused by a tree root and she's been in pain from the metal plate ever since. Not only did the council not apologise (despite admitting guilt by cutting the tree down), they didn't even give her a rebate on her council tax . No social media attention for her though: she kept it to herself and close family, realising trips and falls happen to most people and are a part of life.

Hope your bruised knee feels better soon though OP. I have no idea what you're hoping to gain from this post.

Rosie

It doesn't make a difference if you're an employee or not. It's based on injury & impact. That was a serious injury suffered by an employee, a customer could have suffered the same level of injury.

I think you're getting a tough time on here, insofar as it sounds like the sign was not in an appropriate place if it was for a near-invisible spill several metres away. The sign ought to have been proximal to the spill and/or the isle temporarily closed.

But, if it's just a bruise and you recover quickly, damages would be near inconsequential and would likely not justify instructing a solicitor (if they even agreed to take it on).

I think a follow up letter to Asda, so they can review their policies or give staff additional training, is your best bet.

Well as a HSE rep there was a floor sign in view clearly stating 'Cleaning in Progress' or 'Wet Floor'
You chose to carry along and walk down that isle. So maybe in the only person on here to say this but yes UABU

What I should say also is did the store put it in their accident book? All places must write down any form of accident wether it be a staff member or a shopper.

Hate to break it to you but in the UK you won't be able to make a successful personal injury claim for a bruised knee!

My god, where has this compensation culture attitude in the uk come from recently? We do not have compensation culture like other litigant prone countries do (eg USA). A uk civil court will want to know what exactly you damages are and see proof of this, and will cover your losses accordingly- they will not give you thousands in compensation for the sake of it at all, in fact they will look dimly upon ‘fundamentally dishonest claims’ (IE chancers) and you may be liable for thousands to cover Asda’s court fees! If they do compensate you for time and inconvenience, it will be a pittance. You’ll have to wait to see if there is any long lasting damage/losses.

There was a bloody sign. Surely CCTV of the fall would prove that there was a sign there and you ignored it and tried to chance it?

That looks sore. I am sorry you got hurt. But it was an accident - the sign was there as a warning while the member of staff went to get more suitable cleaning materials. Accidents happen and they can;t all be avoided. You could of course try to sue but I think it would be dependent on how severe and life-limiting the injury is.

🤔 what Surprises me is the strongly divided viewpoint. To those who have DM’d me, thank you for your concern and kind words (although unneeded as it really was just a bad bruise -rather large and colourful atm though!), to those who found it appropriate to ‘gang up’ and ‘Ridicule’ (you know who you are) 🤔 congratulations in showing yourselves up, behaving in a way we chastise children for.

Some people seemed to embrace the fact that I never intended to sue, knew I was hurt and annoyed and I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who thought that was rather obvious in my OP! Apparently some people just felt like being arses!

I’m also not sure why, when the manager of the store and the employee cleaning the mess both felt it was not my/ the chaps faults, that so many on here feel it is 🤔.

As was quite rightly commented ‘if a sign doesn’t actually need to be on/next to the spill- might as well just stick a ‘cleaning in process’ sign by the enterance door and take zero responsibility for anything that happens on the premesis!

I took exactly the amount of ‘reasonable care’ that 99% of the people commenting ‘it’s your own fault’ would have! And I’m equally 99% sure that in the same situation they’d huff about how badly placed the sign was and how they’d taken ‘reasonable Care’ and still fallen 😂🤔!

The shitty comments about me being a ‘drama queen!’ Are a total non starter- MN is FULL of people who have had ‘one of those days’ and RARELY is that a pattern of regular behaviour. 🤔 This whole thread has turned into ugly abuse - there is a VERY big difference between ‘I don’t agree’ (fine) and ‘You’re a drama queen and a terrible person your fiancé shouldn’t date you!’ (Not fine)

I can only assume the latter comes from frustrated unhappy people (without the resources, ability or motivation to see a bigger picture and be respectful).

It’s like my mother used to say “people who aren’t educated enough to convey their opinion eloquently...tend to becone abusive and angry rather fast 😉”