The incident

On 26 March 2022, our client was shopping at Morrisons Supermarket on York Road in Doncaster when she slipped on debris left on the floor. She fell and suffered injuries to her right knee, right shoulder, and lower back.

This accident raised an important legal question: Did the supermarket do enough to make sure the store was safe for customers?

The law we can apply: The Occupiers Liability Act 1957

Under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, anyone who controls or “occupies” a property, such as a supermarket, owes what’s called a “common duty of care” to anyone visiting their premises.

This means that Morrisons in this case, as the occupier of the store, had a legal duty to take reasonable care to make sure customers like our client were safe while shopping.

What the duty of care involves

The duty of care covers a wide range of responsibilities. Supermarkets must take reasonable steps to prevent accidents. This includes:

• Keeping floors clean, dry, and free from hazards
• Regularly checking aisles for spills, rubbish, or debris
• Acting quickly to clean up any messes that could cause someone to slip or fall
• Putting up warning signs if there’s a temporary hazard (like a wet floor)
• Carrying out risk assessments to identify possible dangers before they cause harm

In this case, it was alleged that Morrisons failed to meet these standards.

What went wrong

The claim suggested several ways in which the supermarket may have been negligent, including:

• Allowing debris to remain on the floor and make the area unsafe.
• Failing to have an effective system for regular floor checks.
• Not properly identifying or responding to the hazard.
• Not giving any warning to customers about the danger.
• Not following health and safety guidelines for preventing slips and trips.

All these failures meant that the supermarket did not take reasonable care to keep the claimant safe, breaching their legal duty under the 1957 Act.

Why it matters

Slip and trip accidents might sound minor, but they can lead to serious injuries, especially for older customers. When supermarkets don’t keep their premises safe, they can be held legally responsible for the harm caused.

The goal of the law isn’t just to assign blame; it’s to make sure public spaces are kept safe for everyone. Regular cleaning, proper training for staff, and prompt action when hazards appear are simple but crucial steps that supermarkets must take.

Final thoughts

Supermarkets welcome thousands of customers every day, so maintaining safety standards is essential. The law is clear: if a store invites the public in, it must make sure that visitors are reasonably safe while on the premises.

In the Doncaster case, the customer’s injuries were a reminder of what can happen when those responsibilities are not met, and why safety must always come first.