Injury Compensation for Accident in Tesco

Being the UK´s largest grocery supermarket chain with over 2,700 stores, it is inevitable that a claim for injury compensation for an accident in Tesco will arise from time to time. Not every accident in Tesco qualifies for Tesco accident injury compensation, and a claim for an injury sustained in Tesco has to show that the store was negligent and resulted in you suffering the injury.

Nonetheless, if you have slipped in Tesco, tripped in Tesco or fell in Tesco and sustained an injury due to an oversight or lack of care by Tesco management or staff, you should be eligible to claim compensation. Our guide below provides some information for claiming injury compensation for an accident in a Tesco supermarket, but it is no substitute for speaking with a solicitor at your earliest possible opportunity to establish the strength of your Tesco accident claim for compensation and how best to proceed with a claim for an injury in Tesco.

Accident or Negligence in Tesco?

Sometimes an injury can be sustained in an accident in a supermarket which is simply unavoidable. Say, for example, that you slipped on a grape in Tesco which had fallen out of a shopper´s trolley immediately in front of you, and you broke your arm as you tried to stop your fall. Tesco can hardly be held responsible for your accident, although no doubt they will do everything in their power to make you as comfortable as possible and summon an ambulance to take you to hospital.

Only if that grape had been on the floor for a considerable amount of time could you claim that Tesco were negligent in their duty of care to provide customers with a safe environment in which to shop and, even then, their lack of care would have to be evident in many other ways in order for a Tesco accident injury compensation claim to be successful. The following are just a few examples of accidents in a Tesco supermarket which potentially could be attributed to negligence:-

• Slipped in Tesco car park due to ice and snow which had not been cleared
• Tripped in Tesco over a box which had been left in an aisle
• Fell in Tesco near the floristry section when skidded on a pool of water

Health Concerns after a Tesco Accident

Should you sustain an injury in an accident in Tesco, you first concern should have been that of your health. Fortunately most slips, trips and falls in Tesco result in little more than bruised pride, and although you cannot make a Tesco accident injury compensation claim for mild embarrassment, you should still have had a precautionary medical examination after your accident.

The symptoms of some injuries sustained in an accident in Tesco may not manifest for several days or even weeks, but it is always in your best interests to seek prompt medical attention for the sake of your health and to eliminate claims of contributory negligence – where you have allowed your injury to deteriorate before seeking medical attention and thus exacerbated your condition by your own lack of care.

No amount of Tesco accident injury compensation will make up for a lifelong disability which could have been prevented by timely medical intervention so, if your injury was not deemed sufficiently severe to warrant summoning an ambulance, and you have not done so already, you should visit the Accident and Emergency department of your local hospital or make an emergency appointment to see your GP as soon as possible.

Procedures Following Accidents in Tesco

Once you have received treatment for your injuries, you should make a report of your accident in Tesco´s “Accident Report Book”. You should try to make your report as comprehensive as possible, including details – if you have them – of witnesses who saw your accident. Keep a copy of the report to provide to your solicitor when making a Tesco accident compensation claim.

It is likely that Tesco will conduct their own investigation into the cause of your accident and, in the event of a serious injury, the Health and Safety Executive might also inspect the store. The result of their inspection may be of substantial help to any claim for an injury in Tesco which is why making the entry in the “Accident Report Book” is so important.

You may find that after making a report about your accident that you approached by the store or their public liability insurers with an offer of compensation for your injuries. It is always in your best interests to decline any offer of injury compensation for an accident in Tesco until you have received a full assessment of your claim from a personal injury solicitor.

How Much Injury Compensation for an Accident in Tesco?

There are a number of factors which a personal injury solicitor would take into consideration when assessing how much injury compensation for an accident in Tesco you may be entitled to. The first would be the nature and severity of the injury you have suffered and the length of time you may take to recover from your accident in Tesco. The solicitor would also integrate into your Tesco accident compensation claim any “loss of amenity” that you experience – where you are unable to participate in everyday activities and hobbies that you would have normally taken part in, but are unable to do so now because of your injuries.

You will also be able to include in your claim for an injury in Tesco any psychological injury you have sustained. Although being embarrassed by your accident in Tesco may not qualify as emotional damage for compensation purposes, suffering from depression or anxiety due to immobility while you recover may – provided that the psychological injury is quantifiable and established by a qualified psychiatrist.

You are also entitled to recover any expenses you have incurred due to your accident in Tesco – subject to them being supported by receipts and other documentary evidence. Financial costs which can be included in a Tesco accident claim for compensation include medical expenses, loss of earnings, alternative travel arrangements if you are unable to drive and any legal costs associated with pursuing a Tesco accident injury compensation claim.

Contributory Negligence and Claims for an Injury in Tesco

As mentioned above, contributory negligence is a term used when you have contributed to your injuries or accident in Tesco by your own lack of care. A common defence against a claim for an injury in Tesco is that the claimant “with reasonable care” would have avoided whichever hazard was responsible for their injury.

Whereas the argument of “reasonable care” should not apply to a Tesco accident compensation claim – as the store would therefore be admitting that they do not try to make the goods on their shelves as attractive as possible to get the shopper´s attention – there are other areas of contributory negligence which may result in a reduction of any Tesco accident injury compensation settlement.

It has already been mentioned above about how failing to seek immediate medical attention can be interpreted as contributory negligence, and scenarios such as where a claimant has been injured after climbing upon a shelf to reach an article – rather than wait for the help of a shop assistant – can also be construed as contributing to the cause of an accident in Tesco by one´s own lack of care.

Offers of Tesco Accident Injury Compensation

It was also mentioned above that you should decline any early offers of a Tesco accident injury compensation settlement that are made to you by the store or their public liability insurers – there is good reason for this. Insurance companies are keen to reduce the cost of premiums to major clients such as Tesco, and this is not possible without making savings elsewhere. Therefore, whenever negligence is not in doubt, the insurance company will try to get you to accept a reduced offer of injury compensation for an accident in Tesco in return for an early settlement.

Inasmuch as an immediate cash payment may be welcome if you are unable to work and worried about your finances, should the offer be less than you require for medical treatment or to support your family you cannot go back to Tesco´s insurers and ask for more. The reason that a personal injury solicitor will make a full assessment of your Tesco accident claim for compensation is to ensure that you receive an adequate and fair settlement. As no insurance company dedicates as much resources to assessing a Tesco accident compensation claim as your solicitor will, it has to be assumed that they are taking a wild guess at what your injuries are worth.

It has to be remembered that all Tesco stores are fitted with CCTV cameras for security purposes. These cameras may have captured your accident in Tesco and, if so, the insurance company will be fully aware that their client is at fault for your injuries (or else they would not have made the offer). An unsolicited approach by an insurance company is not necessarily a bad thing; as it shows that Tesco admit their liability for your injuries and that their insurance company will be open to negotiations with your solicitor.

Legal Advice about a Tesco Accident Claim for Compensation

Some people may believe that their Tesco accident compensation claim is frivolous or that they are wasting a solicitor´s time by asking questions about a claim for an injury in Tesco; however the approach by an insurance company is only one of the reasons for speaking with a solicitor about your Tesco accident claim for compensation at the earliest possible opportunity. An accident in Tesco where a child has been injured, or a scenario where you have only just been diagnosed with an injury attributable to a past accident in Tesco supermarket, will mean that different procedures have to be followed with possibly different consequences.

No two claims for Tesco accident injury compensation are identical, so it is important that you seek professional legal advice to establish your entitlement to Tesco accident injury compensation and to determine how much compensation you should be entitled to. Let your solicitor be the judge of whether a claim for an injury in Tesco is frivolous or whether you have a justifiable claim for injury compensation for an accident in Tesco.