Posted: October 11th, 2018
€15,000 shopping centre injury compensation has been awarded to an 83-year-old mad who was injured in a fall when his shopping trolley got stuck on a travelator.
Judge Sarah Berkeley in the Circuit Civil Court was advised that John Ansell of Listrolin, Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny was travelling on a moving walkway at the Showgrounds Shopping Centre in Clonmel, Co Tipperary when the incident caused him to fall backwards, injuring his neck and shoulder and his left hand.
Mr Ansell told the Circuit Court that he had been going with the trolley from the Iceland Store, after he had paid for his shopping, towards the second-level car park and decided to use the travelator. When he was about to leave the travelator the trolley suddenly got stuck. Mr Ansell attempted to free the trolley but it his efforts were in vain as the moving walkway kept running. People closeby came and aided him in releasing the trolley but it shifted sideways suddenly and flung him backwards.
The shopping centre accident compensation action was taken against the two receivers who control the assets of MK 1 Property Investments, the owners of Iceland and Ennis Lifts who maintain the travelator.
Judge Berkeley was given a presentation from from four experts who sought to assign blame for the poor working of the moving walkway and the Iceland shopping trolley.
Judge Berkeley referred to the fact that Mr Ansell had no trouble with the shopping trolley until he was leaving the travelator. She went on to say that Mr Ansell was 100% not to blame for the accident that occurred. The judge said that he accepted the testimony of Mr Ansell’s wife, Karen, that the shopping centre manager had told her about a similar accident had happened just one week before her husband’s accident. As a result of this the judge deemed Mr Ansell’s accident as foreseeable and criticised the failure of the shopping centre management to address the condition of the moving walkway after the first incident.
As Ennis Lifts had completed the obligations of their maintenance contract the judge awarded the €15,000 shopping centre accident compensation award jointly against the owners of Iceland and the two receivers.
Categories: Personal Injury Compensation, Shop Accident Compensation
