Accident at supermarket

[Chocolatethin]

DH is working away and has had quite a nasty accident at the entrance to a supermarket in the town he's working in. It's a bit difficult to describe exactly what happened but I'll try my best, I'm struggling to visualise the layout myself so apologies if it's confusing.

He was entering the store from the car park and it was dark and very windy and rainy so he was hurrying to get inside and visibility was poor. Outside the doors is a walkway and separating that walkway from the car park is a completely clear glass screen running all the way along the front of the store. Because the lights in store were on and it was dark outside it looked to DH as though the screen wasn't there and he barrelled straight into it, taking the full force to his face mainly.

He's broken his nose, gashed across the bridge of it, has a lump like an egg on his forehead and has knocked his front teeth loose as well as bashing his (already knackered from a previous injury) knee. The security guard came rushing out and picked him up, gave him some kitchen roll to mop up the blood and mentioned that this has happened several times before, including once already that same day.

So I suppose I'm asking if we should be taking any action? I won't be disingenuous and pretend a bit of compensation wouldn't be useful atm but it's also concerning us that this has happened multiple times before and the store have taken no action (some stickers or something so people can see the screen?) so it's likely to happen again.

This needs reporting to the store and he needs to seek medical attention. It is concerning that there was no help at the scene, especially as a broken nose would have been bleeding .
The store needs to legally record this has occurred and your husband needs an official record of the injuries sustained

I'm a) gobsmacked that running in to a glass panel has caused injuries of that type and magnitude B) shocked that he didn't attend even a minor injuries unit C) shocked he drove straight afterwards, that was irresponsible.

You have zero hope of a claim unfortunately - there is no evidence at all and even more so because of the tome lapsed - what's to say he didn't stumble on a kerb one evening (which sounds much more likely with those injuries as would need a lot of force)

Agree, it’s a huge amount of force.

some people will grossly over exaggerate injury if they think they can get a bit of money from it. Others will lie about what happened to them and make up stories to avoid the truth

it’s hard to fathom what the op is saying is in any way probable, and when you couple it with no medical attention, driving straight after, even though he was dazed and concussed and he didn’t know what to do. And no record of it, this one’s a struggle.

if it was just I walked into a door got a bit of a bash, could I get some money for it, that would be different, but this is something else entirely. The man was concussed, vomiting, broken nose, teeth knocked out, knee done in, a major cut to his face and significant lump on his head. The level of force required to achieve all that is huge. Even running at it head on you’d struggle.

Really not sure why DH's honesty is being called into question tbh, I have zero doubt that it happened exactly as he said. He is particularly averse to hospitals so I understand why he didn't go even if it seems strange to other people, I also think we've all received the message loud and clear that we mustn't put more pressure on the NHS unless in cases of dire emergency and knowing DH he wouldn't have thought this was dire enough.

Have none of you really ever encountered people (usually men!) who soldier on regardless and don't seek medical attention unless their leg is hanging off? I know several and none of them would have gone to hospital either! As for the (in)actions of the supermarket staff I'm a bit shocked by that too, they should have done much more to help him but I'm not sure what he could have done about that?

This doesn't add up at all OP, it's either a huge exaggeration or something else happened.

But you said his teeth are loose? That alone needs immediate treatment, surely? He dislikes drs so much he's happy to lose his front teeth? How do YOU feel about that OP?

I'm struggling to picture this 'screen'

Thats why we need to know what supermarket so we can nosey google street view.

Really not sure why DH's honesty is being called into question tbh

Because none of it rings true obviously. Hitting a stationary object with force enough break a nose, loosen teeth, gash across face etc but didn't bother to seek medical attention and has continued to drive and work for two days since. It's very obviously exaggerated to attempt a compo claim.

Or DH got into a fight or similar and doesn't want to tell OP, and lies have got out of hand!

He literally walked/ran (he was hurrying as it was raining and windy but don't think he was fully running) face first into a glass screen he had no idea was there, it wasn't going to be a minor injury! His teeth were already not in great shape tbf, our DGC managed to knock one of them out months ago while playing so it probably did take less to loosen them than the average person with healthy teeth.

I have a call back booked with a no win no fee firm and the thread is descending into the usual MN pile-on so I'll sign off now, thanks for the helpful responses.

OP, please get him to a dentist asap as a very minimum. My son knocked out his front adult tooth out aged 9 (bike accident), and the three others next to it were all loose. It was the skill of the maxofacial doctor at our A&E who splinted his three loose teeth with a metal strip that held them in place and allowed the nerves to settle, rather than dying and him loosing more teeth (plus soft food for ages - he’d also broken his jaw which was not immediately obvious).

And the cost of his implant will be at least £4k to replace the missing tooth when he is fully grown. It’s expensive stuff - do everything you can to save it even if you don’t pursue compensation ! He’ll only know it’s an issue when his tooth changes colour and dies.

I hate going to the doc. I have the usual 50+ health screens and that has been it mostly. It has to be something fairly serious like the lump, etc before I entertain it.

I have to say that bashing my beak, being concussed and loosening my front teeth would have me going - regardless of worrying about putting pressure on the NHS.

I don’t doubt his injuries. But the supermarket response seems unusual given how bad he was and I would be surprised they didn’t call for medical assistance.

I’m sorry but something seems amiss. Is he aware that you have contacted solicitors? Why hasn’t he done it?

I have seen these screens in a few places, usually the side of a big canopy covering the entrance area, maybe with trolleys in and protecting the front door area from direct wind /rain.

I know someone who walked into a patio door in a hotel. The door was between his room and balcony so he knew it was there but said he thought it was open. He had similar injuries and got compensation.

Were there not raindrops running down the screen if it were raining? I'd have thought reflected light and rain would make it quite visible.

Where I used to work staff on occasion would have to rush \run between buildings. (Nhs). One day a member of staff ran full speed into the glass front doors. The security guard observed that it wasn't the first time it happened. I reported it to the relevant people. I've never seen such a speedy response. That day they were out with big signs. The next day a team of people were auditing all the glass doors and floor to ceiling windows. Then putting signs and markings up.
The only reason that they did this is to stop them being sued. There must be an issue with liability.

A no-win no-fee firm won't take on any case that has less than a 50% chance of success. I think you're going to struggle there.

Not to claim, to access legal advice. Many home insurance policies include legal expenses cover, often called family legal protection or something similar.

It is very useful since the changes to funding for personal injury claims that mean a percentage of damages can be used to for legal costs.

Perhaps ignore the amateur investigators and engage with the sensible advice you are getting.

Also no reputable solicitor will speak to you about your husband's claim. He needs to make contact himself, but after he has sought medical and dental treatment.

@ThatGirlInACountrySong the only people pushing up insurance prices are companies / people who act negligently. Don't blame people suing for the negligence of others.

Your priority needs to be getting medical treatment.

Loose teeth can be saved but they need careful attention and wiring into place to see if they “take”. This needs to be done immediately.

A compo solicitor will have no interest in a case where your DH didn’t suffer loss. What is his loss? And how, in the absence of any medical reports, are you going to evidence that?!

Oh come on. It's transparently bollocks.

It absolutely should be reported. Given the severity of his injuries, it is weird that it hasn't been. I'm also really surprised that he hasn't seen somebody about his teeth. I actually knocked my front teeth out falling flat on my face. He should see a dentist to see if they can be saved.

In terms of a claim - I am a lawyer but not an injury one (although did do it back in the day). You don't need to have gone to hospital to make a claim but having failed to report the incident, failed to see anyone for his injuries and then deciding to drive for 4 hours isn't massively supportive of a claim.

I would also argue that the supermarket should have reported it - I can't recall the HSE stuff but accidents do have to be reported and if the security guard and manager were there, the supermarket could have breached HSE guidelines due to a lack of reporting - particularly if it has happened more than once.

Whether you make a claim or not, get your DH to a dentist. Losing your front teeth is painful but also a pain in the arse long term due to needing dentures / implants etc.