Shop Accident Claim

If you wish to make a shop accident claim for compensation, it is advisable to speak directly with an experienced solicitor at the first practical opportunity. Claims for shop accident compensation can be complicated by the removal of evidence and the fact that – in many scenarios – a shop does not have an “absolute· duty of care. Furthermore, CCTV security video which could support a shop accident claim can often be recorded over when the shop feels that there is no further use for it and, in quieter shops, a lack of witnesses to your injury can also hinder your claim for shop accident compensation. Therefore, if you have sustained an injury in a shop accident for which you were not wholly to blame, you are invited to call our freephone Legal Advice Centre and speak directly with an experienced Irish solicitor.

Supermarket Knee Injury Claim Settled for Five Figures

November 21st, 2016. By Compensation News.

A nurse’s claim for personal injury compensation against Tesco Supermarkets has been settled by the Circuit Court in Dublin.

The accident occurred in January 2014 after a thirty-two-year-old nurse, whose anonymity has been preserved throughout proceedings, fell over an obstruction in her local branch of Tesco Metro. The obstruction – a six-pack of beer- had been left on the floor by a customer waiting to use the self-service checkouts.

The fall caused substantial damage to the woman’s knee, which had previously undergone reconstructive surgery. After an ambulance took the nurse to St James’ Hospital, an x-ray showed that the same knee had been fractured again. Two surgeries and three years of physiotherapy later, the woman still suffers from pains around the area of the fracture.

The woman consulted a personal injuries solicitor and proceeded to make a claim against Tesco for her fall. However, the supermarket denied permission to the Injuries Board for an assessment to take place and as such the woman was granted permission to pursue her claim through the courts.

Earlier this month, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard details of the case at the Circuit Court in Dublin. He was informed that Tesco were continuing to deny liability for the injury, claiming that by failing to avoid the brightly-coloured box of beer, the woman had caused her own fractured knee. They added that there was nothing they could have done to prevent the injury.

Representatives for the claimant argued that the woman was forced to go through the queue of people, as the cramped layout of the supermarket made it unavoidable if she wanted to access certain parts of the store. The judge noted that this was a bad design, commenting that if the “customer traffic” of the supermarket had been managed better, the woman’s injury may never have occurred.

Adding that the woman’s knee injury must have been severe to still cause her trouble, Judge Groarke found in the claimant’s favour. Initially awarding a sum of €60,000, 20% was then deducted for contributory negligence.

Pensioner Awarded Compensation for a Trip and Fall in Dunnes Stores

July 10th, 2015. By Compensation News.

A seventy-seven year old pensioner has been awarded €137,000 compensation for a trip and fall in Dunnes Stores at the High Court in Cork.

Bernadette O´Leary´s accident happened on 2^nd July 2013 while she was shopping at her local Dunnes Store in Clonakilty in Cork. Bernadette was looking for a waterproof canopy in the store that would protect her stall from the rain at the weekly farmers market where she sold homemade cakes.

Bernadette found a gazebo in the store that she thought might be suitable and she asked a shop assistant whether or not the gazebo was waterproof. The shop assistant did not know, but said he would find out and asked Bernadette to follow him.

As Bernadette followed the shop assistant into the next aisle, she tripped over a fold-up deckchair that had been left on the floor waiting to be placed on a display shelf. Bernadette broke her hip when she fell and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

When she had recovered sufficiently to be allowed home, Bernadette made a claim for compensation for a trip and fall in Dunnes Stores – alleging that the fold-up deckchair left in the aisle presented the risk of a trip and fall injury and was contrary to Dunnes Stores´ own safety policy.

The company denied liability for Bernadette´s broken hip and argued that she was not entitled to compensation for a trip and fall in Dunnes Store because she should have taken more care when she entered the aisle and looked where she was going.

Because of the denial of liability, the Injuries Board was unable to assess Bernadette´s claim, and she was issue with an “Authorisation” to pursue compensation for a trip and fall in Dunnes Store in court. The case was heard at the High Court in Cork this week by Mr Justice Henry Abbot

Judge Abbot was shown a CCTV video of Bernadette´s accident and agreed with Bernadette´s counsel, who said “the defendant had invited the plaintiff into the path of a hazard on which she fell and was injured”. The judge found in Bernadette´s favour and awarded her €137,000 compensation for a trip and fall in Dunnes Stores.

Woman to Receive Compensation for Soft Tissue Knee Injury at Work

June 9th, 2014. By Compensation News.

A kitchen assistant who was formally employed by Dunnes Stores in Clonmel has been awarded compensation for a soft tissue knee injury at work.

29- year-old Dorota Michalowska from Clonmel in County Tipperary had been clearing tables in the canteen of her local Dunnes Store, when – on 14 July 2011 – as she was returning to the kitchen with a trolley stacked up dirty dishes, she slipped on a frozen chip that had fallen to the floor and fell heavily – suffering a soft tissue knee injury.

Dorota´s injury was so severe that she was immobilised for six months and unable to work for a further three months. After undergoing physical therapy to ease the pain in her knee, Dorota took legal advice from a solicitor and made a claim for compensation for a soft tissue knee injury at work against her employers – Dunnes Stores – alleging that the company had not provided her with a safe environment in which to work.

Dunnes Stores contested Dorota´s claim for a soft tissue injury at work, and denied its responsibility for her slip and fall accident – arguing that she had been preparing food in the kitchen throughout the day and she was most likely the author of her own misfortune as it was most likely that she had dropped the frozen chip on the floor and failed to notice the hazard,

Dorota´s compensation claim for a soft tissue knee injury at work proceeded to the High Court in Dublin, where it was heard by Ms Justice Mary Irvine. After hearing evidence from both parties, Judge Irvine found in Dorota´s favour on the grounds that, if Dorota had dropped the frozen chip herself – and then performed a circuit of the canteen to clear away the dirty dishes – the chip on the floor would have defrosted and no longer have been frozen by the time Dorota slipped on it and sustained her injury.

The judge commented in her summing up that two other employees were working in the canteen on the day of Dorota´s accident, and that “on the balance of probabilities” it was likely that one of Dorota´s co-workers had dropped the frozen chip, and either neglected to pick it up or not seen the hazard at all. Judge Irvine ruled that Dunnes Stores were therefore the liable party in Dorota claim due to the negligence of its employees.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine awarded Dorota €82,750 compensation for a soft tissue knee injury at work – a sum which included €20,000 for future pain and suffering, as the judge believed there would be a strong likelihood of Dorota suffering from arthritis as she grew older.

Injury Compensation for Lacerated Finger Approved in Court

April 9th, 2014. By Compensation News.

The Circuit Civil Court has approved a settlement of injury compensation for a lacerated finger for a nine-year-old girl from Dublin.

At the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard how Naoise Walsh from Bluebell in Dublin was shopping in the Debenhams store in Henry Street with her mother, when the two stopped in the store´s café for a drink and a rest.

Naoise (who was six-years-old at the time) went to take a drink from one of the fridges in the café but, as she did so, her finger became trapped in the wire mesh of the shelf on which the drink was stacked and as she tried to pull it away, she lacerated it badly.

An ambulance was summoned, and Naoise was taken to the Children´s Hospital in Temple Street, where her injury was cleaned and her finger dressed. The following day, Naoise underwent a general anaesthetic so that her injury could be examined for tendon damage; however none was found and Naoise was allowed home the same evening.

Through her mother – Amy – a claim for injury compensation for a lacerated finger was made on Naoise´s behalf against Debenhams Retail Ireland Ltd. The company acknowledged their part in Naoise´s injury, and the two parties agreed a settlement of €10,000 injury compensation for a lacerated finger.

However, before the claim for a lacerated finger injury could be concluded, the settlement had to be approved by a judge: and therefore Mr Justice Raymond Groarke was told the circumstances of how Naoise sustained her finger injury – and that Debenhams was not contesting the claim – before approving the settlement of injury compensation for a lacerated finger.

Former Argos Employee Awarded Injury Compensation for a Storeroom Accident

January 31st, 2014. By Compensation News.

A former employee of Argos has been awarded €25,000 injury compensation for a storeroom accident in which she fell from a ladder and dislocated her wrist.

Nicola Starmer from Ballynakill Downs in Waterford was working at the Great George´s Street branch of Argos when, in February 2007, she went into the shop´s storeroom to collect a customer´s purchase.

As the box she needed to collect was located on a high shelf, Nicola (42) climbed a ladder in order to retrieve it. However, as Nicola was descending the ladder with the box under her arm, she fell backwards and landed on the storeroom floor.

Nicola was at first unaware that she had sustained an injury, but as the day progressed she started to experience a pain in her right forearm. She attended the Emergency department of the local hospital where she had an x-ray which revealed a dislocated wrist.

Doctors had to insert pins into Nicola´s wrist to stabilise the injury and Nicola was discharged from hospital in plaster cast. Unfortunately Nicola was unable to continue her temporary position as a front-of-house assistant in Argos because of her injury.

Nicola spoke with a solicitor about the circumstances of her injury and made a claim for injury compensation for a storeroom accident against Argos. The store contested its liability for Nicola´s injuries and the claim was heard before Mr Justice Raymond Groarke at the Circuit Civil Court.

At the hearing, Argos argued that Nicola had been shown how to use a ladder safely and that the company should not be held responsible for her injuries. However, Nicola´s solicitor informed the judge that the ladder safety training consisted of a DVD presentation rather than a practical demonstration and, furthermore, that she had never been informed of safety procedures in the storeroom as her position was front-of-house.

Judge Groarke found in Nicola´s favour after hearing that she had only attempted to collect the goods because the store was short-staffed and there was nobody else available to serve the customer. He awarded her €25,000 injury compensation for a storeroom accident against the Argos store in Waterford.

Woman Awarded Compensation for Travelator Accident

December 19th, 2012. By Compensation News.

A woman who caught the heel of her shoe in a hole on a moving walkway in a Dublin shopping centre has been awarded €13.150 in compensation for a travelator accident after a hearing at the Circuit Civil Court.

The compensation action was taken by Nuala Holloway Casey (60) from Blackrock in Dublin against company Secret Retail Holdings (trading as Superquinn Shopping Centre) and Kine (Ireland) Limited, escalator fitters, Dublin, after suffering an ankle injury at the end of 2007 at the Superquinn Shopping Centre.

The court was told that on December 21st 2007, the high heel of Nora’s shoe had become stuck at the entrance to a descending moving walkway and she then had fallen heavily – injuring her left ankle. Ms Holloway told the court that she still felt pain in the ankle and had been forced to give up playing tennis due to the damaged ankle.

Despite liability being accepted there are an argument over the final settlement amount as Nuala had failed to visit her doctor for 10 days after the accident and exacerbated her injury caused due to a different fall in 2009.

Upon reviewing the testimony made by medical experts in support of Nuala´s compensation case, Judge Hickson awarded the former Miss Ireland €12,000 compensation for travelator accident plus an additional €1,250 to account for the expenses related to her accident.

Newsagents Accident Compensation Claim Settled in Court

October 29th, 2012. By Compensation News.

A woman, who sustained facial injuries when she walked into a shop shutter, has had her compensation claim for an accident in a newsagents settled at the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin.

Yvonne McEvoy (42) from Clondalkin, Dublin, had been at Tuthill´s Newsagents in the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre when, in October 2010, she was distracted by a Halloween display as she was leaving the shop and walked into a partly closed shutter.

The shutter, Judge Jacqueline Linnane at the Circuit Civil Court was told, was often partially closed as the shop was about to shut to dissuade new customers from entering, but Yvonne failed to hear the warning shouted to her by a shop assistant and walked straight into it – sustaining an injury to the left side of her face.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard from forensic engineer Alan Conlon that CCTV video of the incident showed a previous customer ducking underneath the shutter as he exited the shop, but that Yvonne was looking to her right as she walked towards the exit. The judge was also told that Yvonne had fallen pregnant in 2011 and was unable to take painkillers to ease the pain.

Finding Tuthill’s Newsagents negligent by lowering the shutter while there were still customers inside the shop, Judge Jacqueline Linnane found in favour of Yvonne and awarded her 17,500 Euros in settlement of her compensation claim for an accident in a newsagents.

Injury Compensation for Shop Accident Claim Approved

August 29th, 2012. By Compensation News.

A County Wicklow schoolgirl, who sustained cuts and abrasions after catching her leg on a faulty cake display in Dunnes Stores, is to receive 21,000 Euros in compensation after her injury compensation for a shop accident claim was approved in court.

Jade Earls (11) from Bray in County Wicklow had been shopping with her mother in the Dunnes Stores at Cornelscourt in Dublin when the accident occurred in July 2010. As Jade passed a stand displaying cakes, she snagged her leg on some rusty nails which were protruding from the support for the stand.

Judge Alan Mahon at Dublin´s Circuit Civil Court heard that Jade suffered a 10 centimetre abrasion and a four centimetre laceration in the accident and, although both had healed successfully, Jade had been left with a permanent scar on her left leg.

After taking legal advice, Jade made a claim for dangerous shop display injury compensation against Dunnes Stores and ABF Grain Products, Grosvenor Street, London, through her mother – Fidelma. The court was told that the two defendants had accepted liability on a 60&40 basis and that an offer of compensation had been made.

Judge Mahon heard that the offer of injury compensation for a shop accident claim amounted to 12,000 Euros plus costs and, as the family were prepared to accept the offer, he approved the settlement.

Fall in Argos Compensation Awarded in Court

June 22nd, 2012. By Compensation News.

A man, who slipped and fell on a discarded wet wipe in Argos, injuring his shoulder in the process, has been awarded 17,500 Euros fall in Argos compensation at Dublin´s Circuit Civil Court.

Declan Conroy from Dublin had been shopping in the Ilac Centre branch of Argos in Henry Street in May 2008 when the accident occurred. While in the queue for the counter to order a lawnmower, he slipped on a wet wipe which had fallen on the floor and fell – severely damaging his shoulder.

After receiving medical treatment, Declan made a fall in Argos compensation claim against the store – alleging that their method of checking the floor for potential hazards was lacking and he had suffered an injury as a consequence.

Argos denied liability for Declan’s injury; contending that CCTV footage revealed the presence of the wet wipe just six minutes before Declan´s accident and insisting that staff could not be required to constantly monitor the condition of the floor surface in such a historically low-risk store.

However, a forensic engineer – testifying on Declan´’s behalf – told the court court that, due to the extra footfall in the queuing area where Declan´s accident occurred, a higher level of attention should be applied. It was also revealed that five minutes before the wet wipe first appeared on camera, CCTV footage showed a woman moving a baby buggy through the area.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane at the Circuit Civil Court decided that, taking everything into account, it was the woman with the baby buggy who was responsible for discarding the wet wipe and, as more than ten minutes would have elapsed between the slipping hazard being present and Declan sustaining his injury, Argos was liable. Declan was awarded 17,500 Euros fall in Argos compensation plus costs.

Child Compensation for a Fall in Toy Shop Approved in Court

May 21st, 2012. By Compensation News.

A girl of five, who will be left with a permanent scar after a fall in Hamleys, has had a settlement of child compensation for a fall in toy shop approved at the Circuit Civil Court.

Brianna Healy (5) from Ballinteer, Dublin, was just two-years-old when she fell and banged her head at the Hamleys Store in Dundrum, Dublin, on 23rd February 2009. Due to the incident, Brianna will have a scar on her face for the rest of her life.

At the Circuit Civil Court, Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard that the store had accepted liability for Brianna´s injury, but the family had not been satisfied with the original offer of compensation for a fall in toy shop and had taken legal advice.

A revised offer of 27,500 Euros was settled upon, which the family were happy with, and after hearing that the case was before him for the approval of damages, Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the settlement and wished Brianna well for the future.