A woman from Cardiff has been awarded £9,375 in compensation after slipping on a patch of treacherous black ice while shopping with her husband.
The former school teacher slipped and fractured her wrist in the car park of Marks & Spencer in Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff.
Following heavy snowfall, the store closed one of its external car parks due to inclement weather. However, the second car park remained open, where the snow had been cleared and piled to one side.
The woman and her husband parked in the open car park and headed towards the shop’s entrance. On her way, she slipped on black ice fell backwards and landed on her left arm.
On being taken immediately to hospital, she was told that she had fractured her wrist. She needed surgery involving a plate and screws being put into her arm.
The fractures took more than eight weeks to heal and the woman still experiences pain when bearing weight on her left hand.
She contacted personal injury specialists, Thompsons Solicitors, and instructed them to make a claim on her behalf. Thompsons secured £9,375 in compensation for her injury.
The woman said: “I was in agony and for weeks I wasn’t able to do simple things like cook, drive or household chores. I’m so grateful that Thompsons were able to fight my corner particularly given the fact that Marks & Spencer denied responsibility for my accident right until the end when my settlement was finally agreed.”
Paul Rosser, a solicitor at Thompsons, said: “Retail giant Marks & Spencer should have been well aware of the risks of black ice in its car parks and been much more vigilant in the bad weather. Their lack of a system to deal with the weather left my client badly hurt and needing surgery.
“Retailers have a duty of care for customers’ safety while on their premises, even if it is ‘outside’. No real thought was given here to the dangers customers faced. Both exterior car parks should have been closed, or M&S should have inspected and gritted where necessary to ensure that black ice didn’t accumulate.”
