Supermarket store hit with second personal injury bill

Thu, 22 Sep 2011
 
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Asda has been forced to payout yet more personal injury compensation to a shopper who slipped on discarded fruit and veg in the Rivergate store in Peterbrough.

Jonathan West, partner and personal injury specialist at Graysons WE, has now agreed a substantial settlement with the supermarket for 74-year-old Patricia Hill who hurt her knee and ankle after slipping on vegetables in a non-fruit and veg isle while shopping in May 2008 – just 4 months after a similar incident at the same store.

She was helped by one of Asda’s employees who arranged for an ambulance to take her to Peterborough General Hospital. She was found to have a closed fracture of the tibial plateau and had to remain in hospital for 5 days.

She returned home fitted with a long-leg cast, which stayed on for 4 months, making life painful and difficult for the previously active lady. With no family in Peterborough, she had to rely on friends and paid help for shopping, cleaning her first floor flat and other household and personal chores.

Despite 3 years of recovery, Mrs Hill’s life is still not back to normal and is unlikely to be for sometime as she still suffers pain in her knee and ankle. According to consultants, she has a 50% chance of developing osteo-arthritis within the next 5 years and is likely to require knee replacement surgery.

Jonathan West, who only recently helped secure £10,000 compensation for another Asda shopper who also slipped in an aisle of the Rivergate store, said: "It is a shame that Asda did not take effective steps to make its store safer following the first slipping accident ."

"Whilst we have secured a good level of compensation for Mrs Hill, she faces uncertainty as to her future health and would much prefer to have remained the active person that she was."

He added: "Businesses such as Asda have health and safety obligations towards their customers and must accept that they have a responsibility to compensate victims of accidents caused when such obligations are not met."

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