For General Accident section
Our client had been shopping in the Tesco supermarket in Bo'ness when he suffered a slip and fall accident. He was referred to Thompsons to handle his supermarket accident claim by his union, the RMT.
The background
On 3 January 2020, our client was shopping at his local Tesco store where he was a regular customer. He had been pushing a trolley past the flower display stand. As he was walking, suddenly his right foot slipped forwards and he fell backwards. He had been holding the trolley with both hands when he slipped over.
Following the fall, our client was assisted by a store supervisor but was not given first aid. He carried on with his shopping but on realising that he had suffered a painful wrist injury, he took a taxi to the Accident and Emergency department at Forth Valley Hospital.
Following the supermarket accident, the store manager contacted our client and informed him that the incident had been captured on CCTV. The slip accident had been caused by a spillage which had been reported but had not been cleaned up. There were no warning signs or cordons in place at the site of the spillage.
The store manager admitted Tesco were at fault.
The consequences
Our client had suffered a triquetral fracture to his wrist. The injury was given a prognosis of one year to resolve. He received treatment through a chiropractic clinic and physiotherapist.
As an offshore contract worker, our client was unable to work for at least two trips and he lost overtime pay as well as standard pay.
The settlement
Liability was admitted pre-litigation in the terms of the Occupiers Liability (Scotland) Act 1960.
The calculation of our client's wage loss was complicated as he was relatively new to the job and had not built up extensive records of pay and overtime. The situation was exacerbated as our client was put on furlough during the coronavirus pandemic. It was calculated that he had lost around £8,000 to £12,000 in wages.
Following exhaustive attempts to gain evidence of his wage situation from our client's employer and extensive negotiations with the defender, a compensation settlement offer of £15,000 was received from Tesco Stores.
We felt that this was within the range of awards for his injuries and financial loss, and our client was happy to accept this sum.
Settlement was agreed on 8 January 2021.
