Can my husband claim compensation for being injured by shelf collapsing in shop resulting in a bad bump to his head?
Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor
Editor in Chief
If the accident in which your husband sustained his injury can be proven to have been caused by the negligent actions of shop workers – such as exceeding its weight-holding capacity – or by the shelf itself being faulty and in need of replacement , you should be eligible to claim compensation for being injured by a shelf collapsing in a shop. However, if a customer placed an object that was too heavy on the shelf or did something to it that could not have been fixed in time – or if your husband’s injury was sustained through his own lack of care – he would be unable to reasonably make a compensation claim against the shop.
Accordingly, your husband would be advised to engage with an experienced solicitor who could investigate the circumstances surrounding his injury. With their assistance, he may be able to prove the shop’s negligence by gaining access to footage recorded on their CCTV system, which could establish the exact circumstances of the accident.
However, before pursuing a compensation for being injured by a shelf collapsing in a shop claim, your husband should have followed some procedures. The most important element is to prioritise your husband’s health and safety and so, immediately following his injury, your husband should have been examined by a professional medical practitioner and had his injuries recorded in his medical history. He should also have had his injuries recorded in the shop’s Accident Report Book. If it was possible, the names and details of any witnesses should have been collected and it would have been advantageous to take pictures of the collapsed shelf and to have kept a diary noting the ways in which your husband’s life has been affected by the injury he sustained.
If your husband has not completed all of the procedures mentioned above, he may still qualify for compensation for being injured by a shelf collapsing in a shop. Most solicitors offer an initial consultation without charge where they can assess the details of your husband’s case and determine whether or not he has a claim worth pursuing.