Supermarket Slip Victim Awarded Over 200,000 Shekels in Damages

A court in Beersheba has awarded a woman approximately 170,000 shekels in compensation after she slipped and injured herself in a Shufersal supermarket in June 2018. The court also ordered the supermarket chain to pay an additional 40,000 shekels for legal fees and court costs, totaling over 210,000 shekels. The incident occurred when the then 56-year-old woman slipped on a puddle of cleaning fluid or soapy water in the household chemicals aisle of the Beersheba store, sustaining a serious injury to her right hand.

Following the fall, the woman underwent surgery, wore a cast for an extended period, and was later diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). She sued Shufersal, arguing the supermarket was responsible for ensuring customer safety and maintaining safe floor conditions. The woman initially sought 393,000 shekels in damages.

Shufersal initially denied the incident occurred and disputed the existence of a hazardous condition. The chain also argued that a cleaning company contracted for the store should be held responsible, and claimed the woman saw wet floor signs but proceeded anyway. They further contended her injuries did not significantly impact her ability to work.

However, Judge Yaron Golan ruled in favor of the plaintiff, citing her testimony, her sister's testimony, and medical documents from Soroka Hospital, one of which explicitly stated she "slipped on a soapy puddle in the Shufersal supermarket." The court noted Shufersal's failure to produce surveillance footage or an incident report, and its lack of testimony from store management, weakened its defense.

The court found Shufersal had a clear duty to ensure customer safety, deeming the risk of slipping on spilled liquids foreseeable, especially in an aisle selling cleaning products. The attempt to shift blame to the cleaning company was rejected due to a lack of proof of their specific negligence. The judge did, however, assign 5% of the responsibility to the injured woman, acknowledging her familiarity with the store and the understanding that it was not a sterile environment.

Considering her medical and functional disabilities, the court awarded her 170,201 shekels. Shufersal was also ordered to pay 39,184 shekels in legal costs. Shufersal's claim against the cleaning company was dismissed, and the supermarket chain must pay the cleaning firm 15,000 shekels in legal expenses.