A Teesside man was left with a painful hand injury after a faulty wine bottle smashed as he opened it.
The 56-year-old retiree from Billingham, who does not wish to be named, has received £2,500 in compensation from Asda, after he was rushed to hospital following the accident.
Thompsons Solicitors was instructed by the man to claim damages from the supermarket after the skin on his palm was sheared off in the accident.
Consumer Protection Act
The bottle of La Comida red wine did not meet the basic safety standards laid down in the Consumer Protection Act.
It broke as he tried to pull out the cork with a bottle opener. The bottle fragmented slicing open his hand.
Following a trip to accident and emergency the man took the bottle back to the supermarket in Stockton on Tees but did not receive any satisfaction from the store.
He decided to instruct Thompsons as he was concerned the same thing may happen to another customer.
He said: “It was a real shock when the bottle smashed in my hand. It is the last thing you expect when you are opening a bottle of wine. When I returned the bottle to Asda I realised that they were not going to investigate the incident. I became concerned that it would happen to someone else and decided to get in touch with Thompsons Solicitors.”
Second recent case of its kind
This is the second case of its kind in Teesside that Thompsons has dealt with in recent months. In November last year Christine Millard, 42, was injured after a bottle of wine bought at Asda in Middlesbrough shattered in her hand.
She was given ten stitches at hospital and now has permanent scarring. Asda settled the case for £6,000.
Client representative in both cases, Diane Davison, from Thompsons Solicitors’ Middlesbrough office said: “In both these cases the bottle of wine bought by the claimants from Asda did not meet the basic safety standards and as a result the consumers were left with nasty injuries which needed treatment in hospital.
“The Consumer Protection Act is there to protect members of the public to ensure that accidents like these do not happen. It is only just that these victims are able to claim compensation for the pain and suffering caused by the faulty bottles.”
This news story was also published by Gazette Live.
