A woman was recently successful in a claim relating to injuries following a fall on the footpath outside her local fruit shop. The fruit shop owner, who also owned the footpath, had been using the footpath on a regular basis to transport produce to and from the shop with a forklift. Over time, this resulted in damage and unevenness to the surface of the footpath.
On 19 February 2019, the woman had taken a load of grocery shopping to her car, and as she returned to walk on the footpath towards another nearby shop, she fell and injured her face, left knee and left shoulder. She also sustained multiple fractures to her fingers and right hand. The woman also aggravated a previous injury to her back. She was clearly shaken and embarrassed by what had happened.
The fruit shop owner represented himself at the hearing. The Court found in favour of the injured woman and ordered the fruit shop owner to pay her compensation for pain and suffering, future treatment expenses and past out-of-pocket expenses.
Generally speaking, most footpaths in NSW are Council owned. Despite a duty of care to avoid risk of injury, there is no expectation for a Council to ensure that all footpaths are free of cracks and are even. It can be difficult to prove that a Council knew or ought to have known about a problem with a footpath, and taken steps to repair the footpath. However, in this case, the footpath was owned by the fruit shop owner, who was not protected by the same immunities afforded to local Councils.
If you or someone you may know has been injured as a result of a slip and fall, feel free to contact one of our Personal Injury Lawyers on 02 4626 5077 and they would be more than happy to discuss with you the compensation that you may be entitled to.
The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only. This publication does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Specific legal advice should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.
