Pensioner awarded personal injury compensation for trapdoor fall

Posted 21/02/2011

A pensioner has been awarded personal injury compensation after he fell through a trapdoor at a Boots store.

Wrexham Magistrates’ Court heard how Martin Habberley fell into a hole in the floor after members of staff at the shop in Welshpool failed to supervise the open trapdoor, reports the Shropshire Star.

The 76-year-old gashed his leg as a result of the fall in May 2010 when the employee who was meant to be standing guard became distracted by another customer.

Boots was charged £10,000 and made to pay court costs of £1,240.

David Charlton, a spokesman for the retail giant, said the Welshpool store had scored highly in its health and safety audit.

He told the newspaper that steps were taken after the accident to ensure that it did not occur again.

This comes after Boots redefined its health and safety strategy in 2009/10 and launched a retail safety plan in order to prevent incidents like this happening.