Friday 15 April 2011

Grapes, slips and compensation – not again?!?


Yes - remember this and this?

grapes
From the Telegraph 15/04/11:

A teacher who slipped on a grape was awarded £200,000 as school staff earned at least £22 million in compensation claims last year.

[The] NUT member who slipped on a grape in a corridor and fractured her hip was given £20,000 because the school did not have a system in place ensuring the corridors were cleaned after lunch breaks.

The teacher who slipped on a grape, which had been left on a stairwell, won the compensation because it aggravated an existing hernia problem, leaving him unable to work due to chronic pain

I blame Jamie Oliver.   Damn Jamie Oliver.
It’s one thing to make schoolkids’ lunches healthier, but it’s an own-goal if it jeopardises the health and wellbeing of their teachers.

And you can’t put a price on that, can you?  Be right back Bring back crisps and chocolate biscuits, I say.  

Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, said: "The level of compensation is no cause for celebration.

No, indeed.

I wonder if I can design a pair of anti-grape shoe grippers.  Or a pair of shoes designed specifically not to succumb to grape slips, slides and off-track excursions.  Heck, if you can get a pair of shoes which helps you tone your booty, I’m sure I could cobble something together to help prevent me going A over T on a grape.   (It’s called walking like an adult!!)


Ooh sweetcheeks! 

3 comments:

  1. Oh, come on Michael. Grapes are dangerous! AND they keep me in a job, so don't you dare invent anything! ;D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, speaking as someone who nearly choked to death on one as a child, I can definitely agree that grapes are dangerous.

    I'm not much of an inventor, anyway, so you needn't worry! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have recently had a bad fall from slipping on a grape in a well known supermarket. I was told my knee was fractured but fortunatley after a CT scan it was discovered that it was not, however I spent a whole week on one leg after being instructed not to weight bear on the injured leg for at least six weeks. I spent over £200 purchasing a bed (for downstairs) and other items to help me to mobilise and complete personal hygiene. The superpmarket has told me that after investigation they will not consider any form of compensation. I am not looking for a mega payout but feel that I should at least have my out of pocket expenses refunded After all I went into the shop able bodied and came out injured because of the lack of a safety mat in the grape department. This is not acceptable.

    ReplyDelete