A shopper, who slipped on grapes outside a high street convenience store, fracturing both her wrists in the fall, has won £111,859 damages for her injuries.
Samira Hassan, aged 57, sued shop owner, Onkar Singh Gill, over the November 2005 accident outside a shop in Greenford, Middlesex. Mrs Hassan slipped on a squashed grape whilst she was inspecting fruit displayed on tables outside the shop.
Mrs Hassan was awarded damages after Mr Gill was found liable at the county court and the Court of Appeal has now refused him permission to appeal against that ruling.
Mr Gill had argued that his staff had taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the pavement outside the shop was kept clear of fruit debris. There had been no previous similar accidents or complaints about the state of the pavement and it was submitted that Mr Gill had in place an effective system for detecting and dealing with spillages.
However, Lord Justice Lloyd, sitting with Mr Justice Morgan and Sir Stephen Sedley, upheld the county court judge’s ruling, saying: ‘The judge did not misdirect himself on the law, nor did he make any factual findings which were not justified by the evidence’.