40th Anniversary of Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd

 

Our specialist personal injury Director has just finished slipping cases for two Claimants against the same well known high street retail group (although different branches ), both settling for just under £30,000. It is surprising that given the law has remained largely settled for over four decades, shop owners still fail to recognise their responsibilities to those they invite into their premises whilst at the same time doing their utmost to distract attentions by way of advertisements, special promotions and product displays, so that it is unremarkable that their customers do not see what is on the floor in front of them assuming that it is safe to proceed whilst gazing everywhere but what is at their feet. It is for the shop owner to demonstrate that the accident did not occur through their want of care and it is not sufficient for them simply to produce documents recording what their staff should have done, for example, by regularly inspecting the floor, cleaning up spillages etc. and placing wet/slippery floor signs out, unless they can actually prove that is what their staff did on the day of the accident.  Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd  [ 1976 ] 1 WLR 810 CA remains good law and therefore if you have experienced an accident in retail shop, do get in touch with our specialist

For further information or to speak to one of our experts, please get in touch

The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.