When we do our weekly shop we are entitled to finish our shopping and get home to put the contents in our fridge. However considerable numbers of people are being injured in our supermarkets each year due to the increasing floor space of supermarkets and retail outlets.

The varied nature of our supermarkets and the increasing lines available means that the potential for slipping and tripping accidents gets greater year on year.

What are the most common types of slipping and tripping accidents in shops and supermarkets?

• Slipping on food items left on the floor like grapes, which are one of the more common items causing people to fall.
• Slipping on spillages.
• Tripping over items left on the floor like boxes and pallets
• Tripping over clothes that have been left on the floor in the clothing or changing room areas.

There are many more examples of the sorts of situations that could lead to a fall in a supermarket.

A supermarket, store or shop owner owes a legal duty to ensure the safety of visitors to the shop. No supermarket can provide a perfectly safe environment but they have a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that a customer is sufficiently protected from danger or if there is one, to take reasonable steps to warn of that danger. That might include regular cleaning, a system to deal with spillages and warn people of wet floors and sufficient staff to ensure that items that might create a danger are policed and removed which could include taking steps to get clothes off the floor and boxes and pallets stored safely without creating a hazard. Every supermarket or shop should be carrying out regular risk assessments and have systems in place to prevent accidents where possible.

I have fallen. What should I do?

The initial instinct for anyone in this situation is to pick themselves up as quickly as possible, check to see whether anyone is looking, to avoid any embarrassment (and falling in public can be very embarrassing) and move off as soon as they can. However some of the injuries arising from tripping and slipping accidents can be serious and range from

• Bruising and cuts
• Sprains
• Fractures
• Facial and head injuries.

Injuries can be to all parts of the body and can lead to long lasting results that might not be immediately apparent. It is therefore important to take some action even if you feel that the injury is minor.

• Report the accident to the shop or supermarket and ensure that it is recorded in the accident book.
• Get the names and addresses of anyone who saw you fall,
• Keep a note of the time and date of the accident and details of what it was you actually fell or tripped on and if possible a note of whereabouts i.e. what aisle it was you fell in.
• If your injuries persist, get medical attention.

Whilst supermarkets do owe you a duty of care, they can often fail to be of much assistance after an accident and their insurers often defend these claims. It is better to have a specialist solicitor used to dealing with these sorts of claims on a no win no fee basis and First4Lawyers can put you in touch with these specialist solicitors.