Ward v Tesco Stores, [1976] 1 ALL ER 219
Citation:Ward v Tesco Stores, [1976] 1 ALL ER 219
Rule of thumb:If you trip or slip on a spillage at the supermarket, is this a claim, even though it was obvious? As a general rule, yes, because you are expected to be looking up at the shelves & signs and not down at the ground, but can be defended if the supermarket can show that it had occurred only moments earlier and no one had a chance to tidy it up.
Judgment:
‘It is for the plaintiff to show that there has occurred an event which is unusual and which in the absence of explanation is more consistent with fault on the part of the defendants than the absence of fault and to my mind the learned Judge was wholly right in taking that view of the presence of the slippery liquid on the floor of the supermarket in the circumstance of this case; that is that the defendants knew or should have known that it was not an uncommon occurrence; and that if it should happen, and should not be promptly attended to, it created a serious risk that the customers would fall and injure themselves. When the plaintiff has established that, the defendants can still escape from liability. They can escape from liability if they could show that the accident must have happened, or even on the balance of probabilities would have been likely to have happened, irrespective of the existence of a proper and adequate system in relation to the circumstances to provide for the safety of the customers... But... it is for them to show that, on the balance of probability, either by evidence or by inference from the evidence that is given or is not given, this accident would have been at least equally likely to have happened despite a proper system designed to give reasonable protection to customers. That in this case they wholly failed to do’.
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.