Supermarket Accident Claims – How To Get Injury Compensation

By Ian Morris | Updated June 12th, 2024

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Making a successful supermarket accident claim is not quite as simple as just being injured while shopping. Claimants need to prove that the supermarket was negligent and that in the case of an accident, it failed to uphold their duty to ensure the premises were safe for customers. This duty applies whether you were in a local corner shop, a store like Poundland, Asda or any other shop or Supermarket. Here we look at the circumstances in which you might be eligible to claim.

Supermarket health and safety responsibilities
Wet supermarket floors
Falling stock and dangerous equipment
Tripping hazards in a supermarket
Hazard warning signs
Proving who is at fault for a supermarket accident
What to do if you have been injured in a supermarket
How much can you claim for being injured in a supermarket?
What do I need to make a supermarket accident claim?
Comments – your questions answered

Supermarket health and safety responsibilities

We have successfully assisted many claimants who have had the unfortunate and embarrassing experience of suffering a very public accident in a supermarket. Like all shops, supermarkets have to follow safety regulations and adhere to the requirements of the Occupier Liability Act which requires them to keep their customers safe from injury and minimise the risk of accidents in their store. If the supermarket breaches this legal duty and fail to take every reasonable step to minimise the risk of an accident or injury in their store, the injured person is very likely to be entitled to claim compensation.

In general, Supermarkets are required to:

Remove hazards and spillages within their store as fast as possible
Display warning signs to indicate any hazards, spillages or risk of injury
Keep the shop free from contamination or defects
Maintain structures within the store and ensure display equipment and stock is safely
Follow safety practices set by the Health and Safety Executive

The typical claim after an accident in a supermarket is for an accidental slip, trip or fall, causing soft tissue injuries, back pain and even bone fractures. There are of course many potential causes of supermarket accidents. If you’ve been injured in an accident in a supermarket and you’re unsure whether your situation will enable you to make a claim, contact us for help. We’ll gladly discuss your situation, explain your rights after an accident and offer you friendly, professional helpful advice about making a claim.

Wet supermarket floors

With regular floor cleaning and the potential for spillages or leaks from fridges and freezers, floors in supermarkets can often be wet and slippery. In wet weather conditions, the problem of wet floors increases as customers walk water into the shop. Supermarkets have to make sure that wet floors are dried quickly and that warning signs are displayed to indicate a potential hazard, with the aim being to reduce the risk of slipping on the shop floor.

Similarly, spillages should be identified and cleaned up as soon as possible, with the Supermarket having a responsibility to ensure that the aisles of the store are checked regularly for any spilt food, liquid or other slipping risk.

Falling stock and dangerous equipment

Supermarket shelves, racks, stock pallets and trolleys need to be regularly checked and serviced to make sure they are safe to hold products. Claims can arise should such equipment cause injury or allow stock to fall onto customers.

Forklifts are a common cause of workplace accidents and in frequent use in and around supermarkets, as such they should be regularly maintained and operated by qualified drivers to avoid injury to staff and shoppers.

Tripping hazards in a supermarket

Supermarket aisles may often be obstructed by boxes, pallets and cages used for restocking shelves. While this equipment is necessary, staff must ensure that any such items are positioned out of the way and they must not allow the aisles to be obstructed or littered with slip or trip risks. The Supermarkets must also ensure that products and produce items are stacked properly to avoid the risk of items falling onto customers.

Hazard warning signs

Any potential hazard within the Supermarket should be clearly marked with a warning sign. The existence of a dangerous hazard does not necessarily mean it will cause injury, but if it does, and there was no hazard sign erected or steps taken to warn customers or prevent the hazard from causing injury, you are likely to have a valid claim for compensation. In this circumstance, the Supermarket is likely to be seen as having been negligent and therefore liable for your injuries by failing to provide a warning of a foreseeable risk to your safety.

However, even if a hazard sign is present you may still be able to make a successful claim. For example, the Supermarket has a leaking freezer unit in their store. The floor gets wet and they call out an engineer. If they erect the yellow hazard sign and believe that they’ve covered themselves and taken reasonable steps to warn shoppers of a potential hazard. However if they just erected a sign and didn’t bother calling the engineer and left the unit leaking for weeks and weeks, the sign would become redundant and they would still be liable for not removing a known hazard in a reasonable time frame. Also, the hazard warning sign needs to clearly indicate where the possible hazard is situated. If a hazard sign is place slightly out of view, or obstructed by stock or not exactly where the slip risk is situated, the sign is redundant and of no use.

Proving who is at fault for a supermarket accident

The courts have been very fair when considering claims against a Supermarket or shop. Let’s be honest, a customer can easily drop an egg, knock a bottle from a shelf and spill some liquid on the floor. They don’t always report it to a staff member and often just walk off. The next customer could come round the corner within seconds and slip on the spillage and be injured. Would it then be fair for the supermarket to be liable and would you have a valid claim for the slip? In this scenario, you would not have a valid claim. The courts have noted that Supermarkets have large premises to monitor and they can’t be expected to see every spillage as it happens, have a hazard warning sign erected instantly and the spillage or slip risk removed within minutes.

When defending a claim, if the Supermarket can show that they had taken every precaution to properly monitor their store by way of a cleaning and inspection regime and checked the area where you fell shortly before you did and located no spillage or hazard, the courts will find in favour of the Supermarket. For example, Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and the other main chains have a 30-minute cleaning regime in place. This is where a worker inspects the floors of the aisles every 30 minutes for hazards, spillages and other cleaning work. The staff member should then erect a warning sign if any hazards are found, before instructing a cleaner to remove the hazard. They will then sign an inspection report. This gives them adequate time to manage their often very large floor space and demonstrates that they have taken every care.

It is however, pretty easy for such reports to be forged or signed off without an inspection having taken place. Furthermore, it is often pretty easy to prove that the store didn’t follow a strict 30 minute cleaning regime due to it being busy, under-staffed or simply forgotten.

What to do if you have been injured in a supermarket

Report the incident. Make sure that you report your accident at the earliest opportunity to a staff member and ensure that an accurate version of events is entered into an accident book. Make sure you note the cause of your injury and any lack of hazard warning signs etc. Though it is ideally best to do so, you don’t have to report it immediately – many people are shocked and/or embarrassed and just want to get out of the shop. It’s perfectly reasonable to report it later. You can return to the store or email them to report the accident and list any injuries. Provide as much information as possible including date, time and location – you may also want to request that they retain any CCTV footage of the accident.
Witness details. If anyone helps you because you have been injured in a supermarket, try to get their name and contact number if you can. This will greatly help your claim and provide additional evidence to support it.
Photographic evidence. If you are in serious immediate pain and discomfort, you’re unlikely to be thinking about taking a photograph of a wet floor or other hazard. However, if you can take a photo or two of what you slipped or tripped on, it may be really useful in forcing the 3rd party to admit liability.
Medical treatment. Make sure that you see your GP, or attend A&E at the earliest opportunity. As soon as you are aware of any injury that is not simply a minor bruise, you should seek medical attention. To have the best chance of succeeding with a claim, it is important to be able to provide medical evidence.
Expenses. Keep a record of any expenses you incur as a result of injuries. If you have receipts for costs such as prescriptions, taxi fares, parking, care or any other cost you have incurred, you may be able to claim those back. If you are unable to work because of your injuries and do not receive sickness pay, you may well be able to reclaim any lost income alongside a settlement to cover the pain and discomfort caused by your injuries.

How much can you claim for being injured in a supermarket?

The value of any final compensation settlement that you can claim after being injured in a Supermarket is calculated from the severity of the injury, your financial losses and the impact on your quality of life. Our specialist Solicitors will claim for the following on your behalf:

The pain and distress caused to you by the injuries sustained
Associated costs and losses
Lost earnings if you have been away from work as a result of the accident
Medical treatments, rehabilitation therapies and post accident care
Restrictions on your ability to fulfil your usual activities and social life
Miscellaneous expenses (bus fares, painkillers etc)

Compensation amounts for common injuries after a fall

Most Supermarket claims arise after someone is injured in a fall, so below we’ve listed some values for common fall injuries based on guidelines issued by the courts:

Type of injury	Compensation amount
Neck injury	£2,000 - £140,000
Minor brain or head injury	£2,070 - £11,980
Finger injury	£4,000 - £85,000
Wrist injury	£3,310 - £44,690
Hip or pelvis injury	£3,710 - £24,950
Fractured forearm	£6,190 - £18,020
Permanent back injury	£11,730 - £26,050
Serious shoulder injury	£11,980 - £18,020
Ankle injury	£12,900 - £46,980

What do I need to make a supermarket accident claim?

These are the main criteria you need to check to see if you can claim with our no win no fee Supermarket accident Solicitors:

Was the accident the Supermarket’s fault?
Did you report the accident and your injuries?
Have you sought medical treatment from your GP or hospital?
If not, are your injuries still presenting symptoms that your GP can diagnose?

If you haven’t done any of this already, don’t worry, we’re here to help. To see if you can claim after your Supermarket accident, please call our team on 01225 430285, or if you prefer, we can call you back.

345 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus supermarket injury claim examples...

Afternoon

My mother had a fall in her local M and S.

A mat that was used around a flower display had turned over and my mother tripped over it. She has sustained bruising and has visited her GP who sent her away for x rays. She has pain walking as a result of her fall. I’ve requested CCTV but they have said the cameras do not cover that part of the store.

I revisited the store to see what my mother fell on and the mat in question was again turned up – showing there is an issue with these mats. They should be secured to the floor so further accidents do not happen

Does this sound like something you can assit with? Can you provide how your pricing works?

Thanks

Adam

This would appear to be a valid matter for further detailed consideration and potential pursuit. The mats in question should not form a tripping hazard and it seems that they have been allowed to be turned at corners, thus placing customers at risk of injury.

Hi 2 days back my 3 year old and I was walking down poundland supermarket. My 3 year old was walking next to me holding a bottle of slime walking to the till, a staff member left a foot stand out and my daughter tripper over it went flying face down. I was in shock the worker come over straight away said is she OK. I think 2 shop workers seen she’s ok, just bruised legs a little.
Can I claim compo for her?
Or is it her fault for not looking where she was walking?
Also I just wanted to get out the shop embarrassed and quick. I didn’t report anything. But it will be on their cctv.

It is always important to report any accident and you should contact the company in question via their website or head office to inform them of what happened. It would seem that your Daughter’s injuries may be insufficiently severe to enable a claim to proceed, but you may notice that the injuries are worse than you have initially suggested. If so, having a record of the incident with the company is vital and we can then seek to pursue a claim for personal injury for her.

My 2.5yr old son fell in a Co-op store and landed head first into a heavy duty roll top cage that was filled with shelves of wine/beer. Only the manager was in store and he had customers. No one came to help my son who was screaming and holding his eye. The cage was unattended and left in the aisle way. I told the manager to remove the cage, which he did. He would not let me take any pictures of the cage. My son had a lump/bruising to his forehead, eye, cheek. Cut to his upper/lower lip and inside lip still is swollen. I have been told that stores are not responsible if the customer falls into a trolley and it’s not a health hazard because I should have been holding my sons hand. Therefore, I am responsible. Is this true?

Whether or not you were holding your Son’s hand at the time is not an issue as given his age, you would not always expect to have to hold his hand. The crux of the issue in this enquiry is the cause of your Son’s fall can be attributed to the negligence of the store in question. If your Son accidentally tripped over, it is unlikely that the courts would agree that the store had been negligent as they do need to replenish the shelves and use trolleys and cages to do so. However, if the aisle was unduly obstructed and stock on the floors contributed to your Son’s fall, you may well be able to take action to pursue a claim against them.

I slipped in Asda on something that looked like slimy egg stuff. I managed to get myself not to fall but I did hurt myself. There was no sign warning it was slippery, but it was put out by staff after I had slipped. I managed to log a report of the accident. My back now hurts and it’s making it difficult to breastfeed my little one.

You are likely to have a valid claim for slipping accident compensation and our Solicitors have successfully pursued numerous claims against supermarkets and other businesses where customers have slipped on hazards on the floor that have not been cleared or marked with a warning sign.

If you have not already seen your GP, make a telephone appointment to have your injury symptoms discussed and noted in order that the appropriate medical evidence will be available to support your Solicitor should you go on to pursue a claim.

My son crushed his finger in the shop with a door. My daughter has held the door for him and she hasn’t noticed that he was still present she let go of the door and it slammed his fingers crushed. He broke his finger bone and damaged his nail bed, now he’s waiting for surgery to reconstruct his nail bed. Is he entitled for a claim?

I feel that your Son may well have valid grounds upon which to pursue a claim. If your Son is under the age of 18 years, you as a parent will need to represent him in his claim as the ‘litigation friend‘ to ensure that his legal rights are upheld (our Solicitors will assist you with this using our No Win No Fee claims service). Given the severity of the injury, there are questions to be asked as to whether the door in question was unduly dangerous and whether some sort of slow close mechanism should have been fitted to it to prevent such a traumatic injury from happening.

The key thing initially is to ensure that your Son’s interests are protected. You need to make sure that a proper record of the incident has been made with the shop in question. If an accident book entry was not completed at the time of the incident don’t worry. Simply contact the shop in writing (email is fine) to report the incident. Any record of the accident should include the date and time of the incident and details of any injury sustained along with your Son’s name and your contact details. If you believe that the door was unduly dangerous (which it would appear to be), you should note that in your report also.

We would certainly be happy to help you pursue a personal injury claim for your Son. Our specialist Solicitors have successfully pursued claims of an identical nature in the past.

Hi, me and my friend were in the fitting rooms and the pole with the curtain fell directly onto our head we told the staff and manager filled in a accident report, then we went to AandE which took the whole day and night but they said my brain was fine it was bruising and swelling on my head. Should I claim??

You certainly have a right to pursue a claim and did the right thing in reporting the accident properly and seeking medical treatment. Although you have avoided serious injury, you are likely to have some mild concussion from the impact to your head and may well notice some neck pain as a result of the pole falling on to you and it would be fair to pursue a claim for the distress and discomfort caused to you.

If you’d like to find out more about your rights and discuss a potential concussion claim, please call us on 01225430285.

Hi,
My 6year old slipped today on chicken grease at asda and has hurt his hand. I logged it in the accident book with the manager and will take him to the gp in the morning.
Do you think i should make a claim for injury or will i be wasting my time?
Thanks

You would not be wasting your time at all. You have done the right thing in terms of ensuring an accident report was made at the time and by seeking medical attention from the GP, you’ll be ensuring that appropriate evidence will be available to support a claim for personal injury compensation.

Once your Son’s injury has been assessed by the GP, please contact us for further help.

So me, my son and my daughter and my mum were in our local Tesco express, my son had fallen over and as I went to pick him up a metal shelf that was stood up right against a fridge had come flying out sideways and hit my forehead! It had cut my head open, blood on both my hands and running down my face, as the shelf continued falling it then hit my son and he has a graze above his eye and an 8cm scratch down his forearm! No trained first aider on site, no written report was made, none of my details were taken and no one asked if my son was ok. I have photographic evidence of the cut on my head minutes after it happened, the GP notes that were made, my sons injuries and contacted head office to report the incident myself. I’m waiting to hear back, what do I do now?

You have done all of the right things in terms of ensuring that appropriate medical attention has been sought, that evidence has been collated in terms of photographs and that you have also contacted the Head Office of the company to ensure that the matter has been appropriately reported. As such, you have every right to pursue a No Win No Fee claim for personal injury compensation and we look forward to helping you do the same.

I few weeks ago I had a nasty fall in my local Morrison’s store, and injured both my knees, I am in quite severe pain, and unable to kneel or touch them. I have been in contact with Morrison’s and they state they do not have CCTV footage in the area that I fell in. Is it still worth making a claim? I have taken advice from my Doctor, and taken photos etc. This has never happened to me before, so did not know what to do. I did not fill in an accident report, nor did any staff member stay with me or take any details. They offered to take me to the cafe area, but due to the severe pain I could barely walk, so they brought me a chair and that was it.

We would certainly like to help you pursue a claim and the fact that an accident report wasn’t done at the time is the fault of the staff member who offered to take you to the cafe, but failed to record your details.

To pursue a claim, we need to know what caused you to fall so that we can identify the area of negligence that we can have our Solicitors act against the Supermarket for you.

My dad tripped over a display stand which was ankle height and hit his head on the corner edge which was sharp metal, he has a very bruised eye and stitches. He is 80 years old so can I make the claim on his behalf?

Unless you have legal power of attorney over your Father’s affairs, you cannot make a claim on his behalf – but you can certainly help him through the process and be a point of contact for our Solicitors to liaise with. Your Dad has a right to make a claim and this is something we would be more than happy to help you both with. The easiest course of action would be to call us when you are with your Father so that we can have an initial discussion with you both and obtain your Father’s permission to liaise with you regarding his claim. You can reach us on 01225430285 when your Father is ready to proceed.

Please make sure that the details of the accident are on record within the shop in question – if they didn’t complete an accident report at the time, contact them as soon as possible to do so.

I just left Iceland after paying, and noticed an error on my receipt. It was a few minutes to closing and the entrance was being locked. I asked if I could go in but he would not open the door and told me to go in through the exit door. As I did this, the electric door which was very heavy shut on my arm which has lymphoedema. It was instantly painful and started bruising as I showed it to two different staff who were clearly not interested, and gave no apology. They appeared only to want to get locked up as there was a football final on that evening. I was never asked to fill in an incident book, and to be honest I was too flustered and worried about my painful arm to think about it. I have contacted Iceland with details, and they have come back with more questions for me, including did I fill out accident form. The event took place 11/7, should I be returning to fill out the book at this stage, or is it too late? I am now off sick due to this incident. My arm is very swollen and sore, and still has some bruising. Doctors advice is to rest and elevate the arm with anti inflammatory pills.

If you are still suffering from these injuries and have not yet commenced a claim against the supermarket, please contact us on 01225430285 or start your claim via our website.

Hi I had a fall on water in a Tesco store and have hurt my neck. I am still having very bad headaches and a stiff painful neck for over 2 months now and it is affecting my medical conditions I have and hindering me further. They have done an investigation and said they did all they could and could not of foreseen the water on the floor as that area was checked a hour ago. I’m still suffering but they were negligent and it is making my anxiety and depression worse.

Please use the start your claim form on our website or call us on 01225430285 to get further help as we feel that you are in a strong position to succeed with a claim for compensation. As Tesco appear to have claimed that they had checked the area an hour before you fell, that is likely to be seen as inadequate and we would be confident that our Solicitors would pursue this matter for you.

Hello my son is five and he fell over on a broken bottle of gin there was a sign but no one guarding it and gin was a clear liquid so you couldn’t see it really and he went flying cutting his wrist and his face.
The first aider said he reported it twice and no one came.

This would appear to be a strong claim as the first aider has already reported the risk of injury on more than one occasion. As the report of a risk of injury had been ignored, it is likely that our Solicitors will be able to force the defendant to admit liability and settle a claim for your Son’s injuries and any associated losses he/you may have incurred as a result.

I was in Tesco last week and cut my hand on a shopping trolley. It was a jagged bit of metal that came out of the handlebars and stuck in my right thumb.
There was a fair amount of blood but my major concern was infection.

I am a very experienced qualified nurse so did not need to seek medical attention as I knew how to stem the blood but also how to take care of it after. A few days later it was quite red and inflamed but it’s started to calm down now (almost a week since the incident).
I know I was supposed to notify a member of staff at the time, but it was only when i got home that I realised I should’ve made a complaint.
Again, being a staff nurse meant I could make a decision and I decided to treat it at home.
If you could please email me with some information and whether it’s worth making a claim then I would appreciate it.

I did take a few pictures at the time but that was to show my family member what had happened. I now realise that these pictures are going to be needed for the claim.
Anyway, please email me back.

Thanks

Paul

Did you report the incident in the supermarket at the time? Did they take your details and record them in an accident book? If not, make sure that you get this reported to the store in question as soon as possible.

Please forward your photographs and contact number to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk so that we can help you pursue a claim against the store in question.

My Nanna was in a local shopping center yesterday, she came back and told me she had slipped in the center itself as the roof was leaking and there was buckets all around the floor (no wet floor signs).
She mentioned she had hurt her finger and upon checking it today her finger is incredibly swollen and we think it may be injured, since she’s struggling to move it.
It was a shopping center and my nanna said there was no staff for her to report it to as part of the center staff but there should be CCTV of the incident. Would this warrant a claim for my Nanna?

You should contact the centre in question immediately to make a report of the incident – you could even do so via email. Make sure you list the date, time and location and draw attention to the lack of signage or barriers around the wet floor.

There is certainly a valid claim for slipping accident compensation and we would be more than happy to help with this.

I slipped in Sainsbury really hurt my hamstring and aductor muscles on 7 Mar. I checked with A &E following day when I was still in pain. Sunday 7th first aider said it was likely that I’d slipped on gel as I was about 3 feet in front of cleaning station. The manager disagreed and questioned my plimsoles. But I’ve missed 4 months running and cant drive. I asked Sainsbury to pay my physio of £215 but they offered £170, can you help me?

If you haven’t already had specialist Solicitor representation in your claim against Sainsbury’s, please use the ‘start your claim‘ form on our website to make further contact so that we can have our Solicitors look in to this for you. Please provide as much information as possible along with your contact details and we’ll have our Solicitors advise you further.

Hi,
I fell over in a supermarket car park as a result of loose block paving. I had severe bruising, impacting upon an existing problem. I was helped by a passer by but unfortunately do not have his contact details. I contacted Lidl and told them about it. They apologised and filled in an accident form but I am dissatisfied with their response.
I would like to know what your thoughts are on this please?

Did you take any photographs of the offending block paving? If so, please email those images along with response of the 3rd party to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk and we’ll gladly look in to this for you and offer some further advice.

I was in asda and I was standing talking to one of the staff members while they were unloading pallets to restock the shelfs. I was trying to decide which item to buy when the pallet of boxes fell on me hitting my head, shoulder, back and leg. i was stunned when it happened and I was also embarrassed because I knew the asda staff member, they asked if I was okay and I said that I was fine just now but I have problems with my neck and back and the slightest nudge or bang can make me be in pain for weeks, I didn’t want to complain incase the asda staff member got into trouble.

It is important to get the incident recorded within the Asda store or with their head office. Therefore, if you haven’t already done so, you should either return to the store or contact their Head Office to report the incident. Make sure you give as much information as possible including the date, approximate time and location within the store. I don’t think you need to be worried about anyone getting in to any trouble for this, but you do have a valid right to make a claim against the insurance that Asda has to have to cover them for incidents such as the one in which you were injured.

I was a customer in the Pitkerro Road Iceland store on Friday 7th May at around 4.50pm. Whilst standing at the checkout a stacking of 12 pack fruitshoots (at least 9-10 crates high) fell over from the opposite checkout and landed on my leg and foot. I only have bruising, but if this fell onto a small child it would have caused serious injury.

The accident scenario you describe is certainly something that you would be entitled to pursue a claim for compensation for. The only issue we now need to consider is whether the injuries you have sustained are sufficiently severe to warrant a claim. Although you describe your injuries as ‘only bruising’, such an injury can meet the criteria needed to pursue a claim. If you are finding the bruising painful and you are noticing discomfort when walking or standing etc, make sure that you report the injuries to your GP so that they are noted on your medical records.

I fell over a crate on the floor the manager said he could clearly see it was their fault, i am in a lot of pain with my knee.

Shops and other businesses that have premises open to the public are subject to the requirements of the Occupier Liability Act. Essentially, this requires that they provide a safe environment for customers and visitors that ensures walkways are kept clear and free of hazards and that any risks to health are identified and removed. In this case, it would appear that you have a valid claim against the business in question as they have allowed an item to block a walkway without having adequate warning signs or barriers in place.

We can help you to make your claim for compensation and our Solicitors can act for you on a No Win No Fee basis.