From CPD Webinars 26.08.08:
A Tesco customer is being pursued for compensation by one of the supermarket chain's home deliverymen months after he slipped on a driveway during a routine drop-off.
Paul Singleton used the supermarket's online shopping service for over three years, spending around £250 every few weeks. But while his groceries were being delivered four months ago, the driver Andrew Britton, 44, mentioned he had slipped on the sloping driveway. Mr Britton then continued unloading items from the van.
Several weeks later a solicitor's letter unexpectedly arrived at Mr Singleton's home informing him he was being sued for compensation because the driver had injured his ankle in a fall on his property. Mr Singleton said: "I was stunned and felt totally bemused. My driveway only slopes down by about an inch.
He contacted Tesco and said: "I told them that one of their employees was suing a customer and they just said they couldn't help.
The fact that this type of situation arises should not come as a surprise to anyone now. After all, these frivolous why-the-hell-not....let's-sue episodes are all the rage now and no longer just the concern of the USA. Everyone wants legal redress for the slightest slip, slide or wiggle and the ambulance-chasing antics of so many law 'firms' who run those infamous and corny adverts appealing to gullible members of the public who believe themselves to have suffered slight misfortune are a plague to society. Seriously, if this is the legal profession, I'm not sure I want 'in' after all.
As cases go, this is pretty much in the same league as the guy who 'slipped' on a grape in an M&S car park earlier this year and tried to claim damages. And let's face it, it's probably about as worthy. I mean, if he'd dropped a bread roll on this toe, it'd be easier to sympathise. Thinking about it, though, a bramble scratched my arm on the way back from work earlier...... I wonder which firm the Tesco-guy used? Might be worth a call.
These type of actions are starting to plague our legal system both north and south of the border and it is very dishartening. That is one of the reasons why I want to go into Criminal Law or not go into law at all. By practicing criminal law I shall never have to entertain these sort of frivilous actions until the day I sit on the bench as a High Court judge(which of course, one does hope to do)
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely ridiculous - slipping on grapes, slipping on a driveway, where is it all going to end? Talk about making the law an ass!
ReplyDeleteA case has started to come back to me which is probably the authority for the brining of this action against the customer **signs in to Westlaw**
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky you can still get into Westlaw. My Uni log-in doesn't work any longer.... sob, sob. Oh well, I'll soon be getting another one for the dreaded LLM!
ReplyDeletehehe.
ReplyDeleteDid the grape let out alittle WINE ahahah ba-dum-dum-tsk!
I agree though cases like that are stupid, but we should be blaming the solicitor that actually agrees to take the case on!
Very good, Uni Looney. I liked the rimshot you sounded-out, too!
ReplyDeleteI think the point here is that we ARE blaming the stupid solicitors who take the cases on.
I may still be able to get into Westlaw, but it did me no good. I couldn’t find the case I thought I was remembering...maybe I'm imagining it!?
ReplyDeleteDont think Wagon Mound and being reasonably foreseeable of the kind of damage would be satisfied, therefore would be held too remote!!
ReplyDeleteMWAHWAHWA
*someone tell me I'm right?*
Having done more research on this I cannot possibly see why this action would succeed (not being an expert on English Tort Law). Had the driveway been in a state of disrepair and it had been a result of that disrepair that the driver had fallen and hurt himself, then it would be totally different.
ReplyDeleteTalking about suing people, I noticed that taxis from a local firm all have details of some Accident Specialists firm on their bumpers!
ReplyDeleteP.s. How are you, Michael? Started your Masters yet?
Yeah, I'm doing alright thanks, Andro. Still in Cornwall at the moment, finishing off an 'e-commerce job'. Hope you're faring okay with the new job.... I've been checking your blog on and off in the last few weeks. None of us seem to be blogging that much at the moment. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteWill be starting my LLM in late September. Hopefully will be blogging a bit more by then but will probably have to get a p/t job to help finance things.
I have actually seen this gentlemens driveway as I live in the area and there is a part of the driveway that has sunken leaving it very easy to trip I have seen many visitors to this address trip on this driveway, maybe instead of writing to the papers he should concentrate on maintenance of his property.
ReplyDeleteExcuse the rant but cases like these annoy me the worker suffered injuries to his ankle which obviously would have meant time of work why shpuld innocent people lose put because others dont look after their property.