The wife of the late Springbok icon Chester Williams has won her case against Pick n Pay, six years after slipping and falling in one of the retail giant’s stores.
Maria da Luz Williams sued Pick n Pay after she slipped and fell in the N1 City Mall store in Goodwood on November 13, 2017.
Maria, accompanied by her sister, realised upon reaching the till that she had forgotten an item. She returned to the aisles and while making her way back to the till “at a fast pace”, she slipped and fell.
While on the floor, Maria said she noticed that she had slipped on some spillage and that the sole of one of her sandals was covered in an oily reddish-orange substance.
She was unable to get back to her feet and was assisted by a customer services manager, who also cleaned the substance off her sandal and helped her into a wheelchair.
She was then taken to the nearby N1 City Hospital in her vehicle by the same staffer.
The Western Cape High Court judgement stated that Maria had suffered certain orthopaedic injuries for “which she has received treatment and in respect whereof she will require further treatment”.
She testified that she was told by employees that Pick n Pay would compensate her for medical expenses; however, the store did not make good on the promise.
Pick n Pay denied any liability on its part and said Maria’s fall was her own fault as she had failed to “keep a proper lookout, failed to take reasonable steps to prevent her fall, and failed to avoid injury to herself”.
The retailer said it had outsourced cleaning duties to Bluedot, who would be liable for any injuries as a result of it not performing its cleaning duties.
But the judge ruled that Pick n Pay had failed to provide sufficient evidence to rebut the prima facie case of negligence, and that Maria was entitled to be fully compensated.
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