Slipped whilst shopping?

Some people may be aware that compensation claims can be made for many events when there is clearly a guilty party. In recent years many people have pursued compensation claims against shops due to them slipping within the shops premises. All shop owners or managers, regardless of their size or nature of business have the legal duty to ensure that all slips and trips are prevented within these premises. Compensation claims in the past have not only been pursed by customers at shops but also by organisation employees.
As the shop owners have the responsibility of preventing any trips or slips within their premises, appropriate measures must be put in place to prevent any accidents. This is has become even more important as the number of people who have pursed claims against shops for slips and trips has increased dramatically. Ideally all shops should be well lit and provide clearly visibility, with staircases being in good condition. Staircases should also provide handrails, be free of any obstacles likely to cause accidents and provide a suitable distance between each step. Floors are one of the most important areas within a shop where measures must be in place to prevent any accidents, to begin there should not be any obstacles randomly placed on a shop floor. Floors must also be kept clean and there should not be any slippages on the shop floor. Spillages within shops are frequent, often due to customers accidentally dropping items and walking off without alerting a member of staff, this provides the potential for someone else within the shop to slip. Any spillages which do occur within shops should be cleaned up immediately, ensuring that the floor is left totally dry. Where a spillage includes liquids which are difficult to clean up, such as oil, a good tip is apply salt to the spilt area which will soak up the leaked liquid. Another major step which must taken for any spillages on the shop floor is putting a wet floor sign in place to allow people on the shop floor to know the floor is wet, this sign provides legal cover for the organisation and can help prevent compensation claims. These wet floor signs should also be put in place by cleaners when cleaning any floors which include liquids, the sign acts as a supply of information for everybody within the area.
In order to pursue a compensation claim for slip or trip within a shopping environment, satisfactory evidence is required. The best policy is to attempt to gather witness evidence, people who have seen the event or people who are aware of how long the obstruction has been present in the shop. Some shops have begun to cover their stores by putting in place cleaning records which provide evidence of when a shop has been cleaned and checked for potential obstructions. Although this is not always the case, these records may also not be to satisfactory standards. Due to this, anybody believing they have a claim for a slip or trip within a shop should contact a solicitor or claims specialist firm.