Mr C – Public Liability

In February 2017, 73 year old Mr C was shopping at his local branch of a leading nationwide chain of homeware superstores.

As Mr C reached for a large household product, other items fell onto him as the store had failed to secure them in place, causing Mr C to fall to the ground. Mr C sustained an injury to his knee requiring hospital attention and rehabilitative treatment.

The defendant company’s insurers admitted liability, however, due to Mr C’s underlying conditions, argued that the extent of the injuries and prognosis could not be attributable solely to the injury.

An offer of settlement was made which was subject to a 30% deduction for what was deemed to be contributary fault as a result of the underlying condition

Although Mr C was happy to accept the offer, Lex advised him to reject it on the basis that it was unreasonable.

Lex investigated further and obtained additional evidence which included a review of Mr C’s medical history. A counter-offer of was made which was significantly higher than the defendant’s original proposal and without any deduction as Lex argued that the defendant was fully liable.

On the strength of the evidence, the defendant accepted Lex’s offer and Mr C was awarded compensation and costs in excess of £15,000.