Retail giant liable for damages after Chester Williams’s widow takes tumble in store
A supermarket giant will have to compensate in full all damages suffered by shopper, Maria Williams, after she slipped and fell in one of its stores.
Williams, widow of late rugby star Chester Williams, was victorious in her case against the Pick n Pay store, located at N1 City Mall, where she was known to be a frequent shopper.
On November 13, 2017, Williams visited the centre with her sister and after completing their shopping went to the till to pay but while there, Williams realised she had forgotten an item and went back into the store to get it. “She set off down aisle No 4 to collect the item and returned to the till up a different aisle – No 5 apparently. While walking back to the till along aisle 5, Williams slipped. Her feet shot out ahead of her and she landed on her left side. (She) was in some quite considerable discomfort and unable to get back on her feet immediately,” the judgment read.
A senior staff member at the store was the first to assist when Williams slipped on “an oily substance which she thought was a reddish-orange colour” in an aisle where pasta and sauces were on display, and was eventually helped into a wheelchair and later taken to the nearby hospital for medical attention.
Williams said she suffered certain orthopaedic injuries for which she had received treatment and would require further treatment.
“Williams testified that (the senior staff member) and some of the other employees were most concerned that the incident would attract adverse media publicity given her quasi-celebrity status. They asked Williams not to go to the media and assured her that Pick n Pay would compensate her for her medical expenses.
However, Pick n Pay did not make good on those promises of compensation and the plaintiff was required to issue summons in May 2019 in which she claimed general damages for pain and suffering as well as medical expenses, both past and future,” the judgment read.
However, it was the retailer’s argument that while it had a general duty of care to customers visiting its store to ensure that it afforded them a safe environment within which to shop, denied any liability on its part.
The company expressly pleaded that Williams’s fall was due to her sole negligence in that she failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to take reasonable steps to prevent her fall and failed to avoid injury to herself.
During the civil proceedings, the retailer issued a third party notice to Bluedot, a cleaning company which was contracted to the store at the time, asking for a declaratory order that it be held liable to indemnify Pick n Pay for any damages that might be awarded against it in favour of Williams.
Judge Patrick Gamble found that Pick n Pay had not adduced sufficient evidence to rebut the prima facie case of negligence put up by Williams.
“The plaintiff’s fall was occasioned by the negligence of (store) employees and she is thus entitled to be fully compensated by (the company) for such damages as she may prove in the future.”
A member of Williams’s legal team said: “We are very happy with the outcome. Pick n Pay refused to accept liability and demanded that we seek to recover damages against their ‘independent’ cleaning contractor. What’s even more frustrating is that the amount of damages isn’t even that big –probably no more than R500 000.
Because the retailer made us run a trial the legal costs are going to be higher than the damages. .”
A spokesperson for PnP said: “We respect the judgment of the court. Our insurers and legal team are handling this matter with the relevant parties.”
Cape Times