We were contacted by the claimant, a nurse with NHS Fife, via her union, Unison, following a pothole accident trip injury she suffered while in the car park of her local Morrisons supermarket.

The background

In May 2019 the claimant and her husband stopped at the café of her local Morrisons supermarket, parking their vehicle in the store's designated car park.

After finishing their coffees, they left the supermarket via the main exit and proceeded to walk towards the car park. It was only a short walk; their car was parked in one of the bays closer to the store. As there was no car parked in the bay behind our client's car, she walked through the rear bay into the bay where her car was situated. However, as she reached the passenger side of the car, she tripped on a pothole. This caused her to fall forward and hit her left knee on the ground with considerable force.

The consequences

The claimant was in immediate pain. She had difficulty getting up and required the assistance of her husband and a passer-by to return to her feet. To make matters worse, she was still healing following a knee replacement she had received earlier in the year.

Our client had been looking forward to returning to work in July. The trip injury delayed her recovery, caused significant pain and left her heavily reliant on the assistance of her husband for a number of weeks.

The settlement

Thompsons pothole accident solicitors intimated a claim on behalf of the claimant for breaches under the Occupiers' Liability (Scotland) Act 1960.

The defender admitted liability pre-litigation and pre-medical and on 13 November 2019, a settlement of £1,500 was agreed with the claimant.