A Kitchen Assistant Damages Her Shoulder Whilst at Work In A Supermarket

Our client was involved in a slipping accident at work in April 2018 on a floor that had recently been mopped, whilst she worked at a supermarket.

What Happened?

Kayleigh* works at a large supermarket in the staff canteen. Her working day started at 7:00 AM, when she came in to prepare for the breakfast serving to the supermarket’s staff. Kayleigh was in charge of the kitchen and she was always the first member of the kitchen staff to enter the kitchen each day. Prior to her arriving at work at 7 AM each day, the supermarkets cleaning staff would clean both the kitchen and the dining area, using a buffing machine for the open areas and a mop and bucket in the tighter areas where the buffing machine could not reach.

Shortly after her shift started, Kayleigh went to the fridge to take out some food items. As she walked towards a fridge, she placed her left foot in an area of floor that was still wet from having been mopped. There was no Wet Floor sign nearby. Kayleigh began to slip even though the floor incorporated a non-slip finish, She grabbed hold of a metal cage to try to keep her balance and in doing so, she wrenched her left shoulder.

How Was She Affected?

Kayleigh suffered a difficult injury to her shoulder. She had to take two weeks off work. When she tried to return, she found that she could not lift heavy pans or items with her left arm and could not reach higher than her elbow to retrieve food items from the fridge and shelves. By this stage, Kayleigh had received her monthly salary and found that she had not been paid by her employers for the time that she had taken off work. She was desperate not to lose any more money but had no choice but to take more time off work. Her employers said they were unable to find her any alternative employment within the kitchen.

Kayleigh had to rest at home for four more weeks, before she could return to work. Her shoulder still caused her pain and each working day was difficult for her, but she had to work through the pain barrier and do her job. Kayleigh is a single mum and needed the money for her family.

How Did We Win The Claim?

From the outset, we were very keen to help Kayleigh. She had had a tough time and was still suffering through each working day. Her case proved difficult because there were three potential organisations who may have been responsible for the badly mopped floor. We were able to rule out the supermarket because they had farmed out the catering services in the kitchen to Kayleighs employer, who were a specialist Catering company. The supermarket had also employed a specialist cleaning firm to carry out their cleaning jobs.

However, neither Kelly’s employer, nor the cleaning company would accept responsibility. We knew that they both had legal obligations to Kayleigh y to make sure the floor of her workplace was safe and we started a formal court claim against both of them. About three months after we had started the court case, we were able to broker a deal where both the cleaning company and Kayleigh’s  employer agreed to split payment of her compensation between them.

How Much Compensation Did She Receive?

We sent Kayleigh to a specialist Consultant Shoulder Surgeon who said Kayleigh would need 3 months of physiotherapy but would be back to full strength about 3 months after the physio had finished. Working on the basis that Kayleigh would be fully recovered within two years of the accident, we negotiated an award of £6,500.00 for her injuries, £1,980.00 for her loss of earnings, £480.00 for physiotherapy costs and £50.00 for miscellaneous expenses such as painkillers and travel expenses. Her total award was £9,010.00.

If you or someone close to you has been injured in a slipping accident at work, or in a shop, supermarket or any public place, The Claims Partnership will be happy to help you. All our services are No Win/No Fee. We never charge our clients for advice and always have time to chat on the phone, via text or by email. We will do our best to help you and point you in the right direction, even if we cannot take on your case.

You can contact us:

By Phone on 01772562084

By Email @ info@theclaimspartnership.co.uk

By Text on 07451279084

*In order to protect our client’s privacy and confidentiality, as well as to comply with the settlement terms that we have agreed with Defendants, our clients name has been changed, as have some other minor details.