VIC Slipped in Woolworths. Badly injured.

[BlabberBigMouth]

I went in to shop 3 nights ago at our local Woolworths on the 5th May 2018.
Whilst turning to go down a lane ,the trolley in front of me, I slipped on excess polish I think it was.
Although I managed to keep myself upright, when I slipped, my right knew bent sideways taking all my body pressure on it, while my foot went the opposite way.
Nausea, shock and pain tore through me.
I immediately told an employee about the slippery area and that I had also slipped and hurt myself. He just shrugged his shoulders, said "Oh! I That's too bad. " And then he walked away.
Gobsmacked, I crept along to the register feeling even worse.
I explained to the register lady about what had occurred and about the other employee and his reaction.
I went and saw the Duty Manager who filled in an incident form, offered to call me an ambulance, bandage, ice, everything. She told me to do what I needed to do with regards to hospital, doctors, medications, ambulance and not to worry about it.
I could not leave the store without their assistance.
Head Office would give me a call on Monday and after helping me to my car ,etc, she went hunting down the other employee as I was told that it was not good enough. He would be fired and he should have helped me and try to find what was so slippery and clean it up, etc. The manager was furious and extremely worried about me as I was in deep shock.
By Monday, 2 nights later I went in to see my GP after speaking to Head Office who told me that any medication, X-rays, scans, etc that were not covered by Medicare the store would reimburse me the out of pocket. Pity about the fact I can't drive my car, fuel to get this fixed and other things.
At the GP and with the scan and X-ray, I have managed to tear my meniscus on both sides of my knee.
I had to buy a lot of heavy duty pain meds and a splint .I'm looking at months of physio and pain and may need surgery.
Woolworths seems to have admitted fault at the store but Head Office just sound like they really don't care and it's a bit of a sprain and will pass in a few days.
Should I sue? What are my other options?
This injury is putting me out financially and a whole heap of other things.
I'm not sure what to do?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you and I'm sorry this is a long question.

 

[Clancy]

I doubt they will fire that sack employee, because it's sure to be a lack of training and the employee would rightly have grounds to sue if they were fired. (If you launched a case, that might be a sensitive spot for the store)

The store will have the standard procedures to follow, which they appear to have followed, as part of their duty of care, but dont mistake that for any kind of admission of liability.

Perhaps try speaking with one of those no win no fee compensation lawyers? The advantage of that is, that if they dont feel as though they have a reasonable chance of winning, they wont take the case, whereas any other lawyer might be happy to tell you what you want to hear, so long as 'they' get paid.

 

[BlabberBigMouth]

I doubt they will fire that sack employee, because it's sure to be a lack of training and the employee would rightly have grounds to sue if they were fired. (If you launched a case, that might be a sensitive spot for the store)

The store will have the standard procedures to follow, which they appear to have followed, as part of their duty of care, but dont mistake that for any kind of admission of liability.

Perhaps try speaking with one of those no win no fee compensation lawyers? The advantage of that is, that if they dont feel as though they have a reasonable chance of winning, they wont take the case, whereas any other lawyer might be happy to tell you what you want to hear, so long as 'they' get paid.[/QUOTE

Thanks for the reply.

I have since spoken to a lawyer that deals with these cases and she is very keen to take it on.
The store have since fired the employee who failed his duty of care and the store and head office have admitted fault. Which is why the lawyer is keen for the case.
So far the store has paid me cash for a knee brace and many pain killers.
I will be starting physiotherapy in the next few weeks also, which they are paying for.

 

[DMLegal]

You would need to establish what caused the fall before any lawyer would entertain the idea of taking action against Woolworths. Did you establish if it was the polish or something else?

 

[BlabberBigMouth]

I spoke to the manager who handled the situation that night, just a few days ago .
She stated "You know these new floors are supposedly non-slip." It's the polish that they used also as I took photos as soon as I could, and that part of the floor near the shelf was still very shiny, slippery and slick from not being walked on.
When I should her that it was stepping onto the old flooring that I slipped. She started "Oh! As you have found out for yourself, these floors are NOT non-slip. No wonder you did. "

She asked about my exams that I was meant to take and wanted to know if I did get them completed?
I told her that I had to withdraw under special circumstances but because it was way past the time I could do this, I would have to re-do the entire modules again at a cost of around $4,000 and another 3 months on top of my studies added.
She was guite upset that, that had to happen even with medical proof for the withdrawal.

 

[DMLegal]

Sorry to hear about the impact to your studies. I understand where you're coming from with the floor, however because something is not 'non-slip' does not mean they are slippery. Although, there might be a case that the transition form the non-slip floors to the 'not non-slip floors' posed a hazard. It might be that the difference between the two was akin to walking on a rough carpet then, without realizing it, walking on a surface like a bowling alley lane. I can see merit in this line of reasoning, it would definitely be worthwhile contacting a no-win no-fee lawyer in your area (many do free initial consultations).

 

[BlabberBigMouth]

Sorry to hear about the impact to your studies. I understand where you're coming from with the floor, however because something is not 'non-slip' does not mean they are slippery. Although, there might be a case that the transition form the non-slip floors to the 'not non-slip floors' posed a hazard. It might be that the difference between the two was akin to walking on a rough carpet then, without realizing it, walking on a surface like a bowling alley lane. I can see merit in this line of reasoning, it would definitely be worthwhile contacting a no-win no-fee lawyer in your area (many do free initial consultations).

Thanks for your answer.

It was the old part of the floor that I slipped on, just where the new floor meets the old.

The store has been great about the whole thing which has surprised me as they appear to be taking full responsibility. The actual store that is, head office is being cautious.

 

[DMLegal]

In that case it is quite clear what caused the fall, at least it is more likely than not in my view. If I were you I would go and take some photos of the floor before it is repaired (if it hasn’t already). You don’t need too many, just one or two of where you fell.

 

[BlabberBigMouth]

In that case it is quite clear what caused the fall, at least it is more likely than not in my view. If I were you I would go and take some photos of the floor before it is repaired (if it hasn’t already). You don’t need too many, just one or two of where you fell.

I already have a whole bunch of photos from the spot and they show just how polished the floor was.

 

[DMLegal]

Good work, best of luck with it, let me know if you have any more questions.