From BBC News 17.03.08:
An accountant who claimed he injured himself by slipping on a grape in a Marks and Spencer car park has lost his High Court bid for damages.
Alexander Martin-Sklan, 55, from Golders Green, north London, was claiming £300,000 over the incident in his local store car park in June 2004.
He said a piece of fruit found on his shoe after the fall could have been picked up inside the store or car park.
The judge ruled in favour of the retail giant which was contesting the action.
I nearly choked to death on a grape once so I appreciate better than most just how hazardous this fruit can be. But slipping over because of one? Seems like the claimant didn’t even know if the grape was to blame or not. Maybe the mushy mess he found on his shoe after he bit the dust wasn’t actually a grape at all – perhaps it was a big ground beetle.
So the judge didn’t find in his favour? Wow, I certainly didn't see that one coming.
£300,000?! Did he suffer paraplegia or something?
ReplyDeleteWell, apparently he ripped a tendon and got depressed from his injury. Not quite paraplegia, was it?
ReplyDeleteSeems like his solicitors might have overstated the case a bit. I wonder what the costs were :o
ReplyDeleteSorry, I didn't mean to blame the solicitors. I meant whoever valued the claim!
ReplyDeleteI think the judge was just offended that someone was treading on grapes other than for the purposes of making wine.
ReplyDeleteWhich is actually a very good reason not to award damages. Merlot anyone?
That's it, Andro - blame the poor solicitors! Just kidding. Maybe it WAS a misunderstanding and somehow a nought got added to the claim figure and no-one picked up on it. Maybe even 2 noughts.
ReplyDeleteThink you might be right with the 'wasted grapes' theory ASP. It occurred to me the claimant might have been 'home brewing' when I was choosing a picture for the post. Must be a better place to do it than an M&S car park, though. :-P
I knew that shopping in Marks can be a bit costly,but that's a bloody expensive grape! Does this mean now that grape everywhere will carry a warning along the lines of " DANGER: these grapes can cause Depression" or , "DANGER: Slipping on one of these grapes will cause you to look like a Berk before the High Court"
ReplyDeleteone could have HOURS of innocent fun dreaming up all manner of daft slogans on this front!
That's a good one, Minxy. Maybe they should have yellow and black hazard stripes on the grape bags now: "contents can be hazardous if stepped on..... may cause choking too"
ReplyDelete