Our client was injured when she sat on a display chair which then broke causing her to land on the concrete floor.
As a result of the fall our client suffered a severe injury to her hips. Her injuries caused her to experience constant pain and restriction of movement which severely impacted on her ability to engage in her normal everyday activities. She had difficulty with recreational activities, domestic chores and work. Our client also suffered psychological injury due to her injury.
We were confident that our client had a strong public liability case and commenced proceedings in the District Court of NSW.
We argued that at all material times Kmart owed our client a duty of care as the occupier of the premises to ensure that our client was kept reasonably safe when she was on the premises. We alleged that Kmart owed a duty to its shoppers to ensure that they could safely explore products that were put on display were correctly assembled and robust enough to withstand the rigors of being tested by shoppers. By failing to ensure that the chair had been adequately assembled Kmart breached its duty of care to our client, and this resulted in her injury.
We obtained a report from an expert Orthopaedic Surgeon which detailed the extent of the injuries to our client. With this we were able to quantify the pain and suffering she had gone through and the future treatment needs she had. We were also able to claim all of the out-of-pocket expenses he had incurred for past treatment.
Knowing that our client had already suffered with her injury for a significant period of time we approached the Defendant’s solicitors to enter settlement negotiations and avoid the time and expense associated with having the matter proceed to hearing.
We engaged in an informal settlement conference where the parties were able to reach a compromise and settle the matter for $180,000. This was a great result for our client and we were glad to resolve the matter without our client having to go through the added stress of giving evidence in court.
Gerard Malouf and Partners are experts in personal injury and public liability claims. If you have suffered a fall or injury at a public place such as a car park, shopping centre or supermarket contact us today for a free consultation. Our team of lawyers are ready to listen to you and advise in relation to your rights. If we believe you have prospects of success we will take on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis and ensure you receive maximum compensation.
