A woman, who sustained shoulder and hip injuries when slipping on the access bridge to a shopping centre, has secured an award in an injury claim for slipping on a wet floor in a shopping centre against the owners of the site.
Gweneth Bowler was visiting the Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester with her daughter when the incident happened in January 2011. The 64-year old grandmother was crossing a covered walkway which connects the shopping centre car park with the stores, when she slipped on a wet floor and fractured her rights shoulder and hip in the fall.
While recovering from her injuries, Gweneth wrote to the City Council about the hazard, prompting the council to initiate a health and safety inspection. The inspection showed several areas where the owners of the shopping centre – Hammerson PLC – were failing in their health and safety obligations including a lack of cleaning to prevent the floor surface of the walkway from becoming slippery in bad weather.
After seeking legal advice, Gweneth filed a claim for slips, trips and falls compensationagainst Hammerson PLC and, with negligence by the owners already established, the claim was quickly resolved for an undisclosed sum.