Personal injury claim, supermarket fall

[AppelationStation]

Today I popped I to my local major supermarket. It was just after school drop off so busy.

I slipped on an unmarked spillage (sticky, sugary dairy drink by the look of it, no signage), feet went from under me and I landed with a hefty thwack on the hard floor. Shopping, keys, purse everywhere, spread eagled in the floor, mortifying.

And, it hurt. I cried, which was extra embarrassing.

A very nice customer stopped and helped me. I was a bit shocked. The staff were nice enough. I was ushered into a back room to speak to some 'customer injury department' on the phone and answer a lot of questions, quite clearly designed to make sure they covered their arses rather than look after me. When that was finished the manager said sorry and ushered me back in to the main shop where I had to limp to the till, pay for my shopping, and limp off to my car.

I've got a bruised and swollen wrist and very sore hip, and pulled some kind of muscle in my neck/shoulder. I've felt a bit shaken today, not sure if it was the public nature, feeling vulnerable, the indignity. Felt silly for feeling that way but still did.

A friend said immediately "PUT IN A CLAIM, SUE THEM!". It was the first thing they thought of. It feels a bit of a gitty thing to do.

On the other hand, they made a profit out of me today, and I left with injuries. They are one of the big four making a fortune, not some struggling independent business.

WIBU to make a proper complaint or pursue a claim?

I'm obviously not particularly litigious by nature, otherwise I wouldn't be asking.

I don't think it matters, threads like this can still be helpful for others if they go through the same thing, slipping in a shop is a fairly common thing Id've thought. There's lots of people who can benefit from the advice given here.

What would you be suing them for is the first question. Have you been unable to work, lost out on income, incurred medical costs or had your future income damaged in any way?

The Uk isn’t the US and you can’t just claim because you’re hurt there has to be a reason why you need to payout.

The Uk isn’t the US and you can’t just claim because you’re hurt there has to be a reason why you need to payout.

Of course you can. If you were injured you can claim for the injury, you don't need to have incurred other costs.

This happened to my dad. He was a bit injured for a while. I can't remember if he claimed. Will ask.

It was an unmarked spillage. I used to work in restaurants. The absolute first thing you did with any spillage was mark it! It's a breach of health and safety if they knew about it.

Of course you can try, you're unlikely to find someone to advise it or to be successful, unless you've got some pretty solid evidence of negligence. A sore bottom is not going to get you much tho, so why would you bother?

You'd need to prove damage to property, loss of earnings, and that you sought medical treatment. It doesn't sound like you've actually got a claim. Unless your friend thinks you should lie to defraud the supermarkets' insurer? You can get in serious trouble for that.