Shopper calls for improved safety measures after a fall at Waitrose Twyford

A woman who sustained a knee injury after a fall in the Twyford branch of Waitrose is calling for better health and safety measures in store.

On December 14 Emma Hobbs slipped on some wet flooring in the entrance of the London Road supermarket, falling and injuring her lateral collateral ligament and peroneal muscle.

According to the former local councillor and now health and safety executive, there were no mats down on the metal floor which was covered with rain.  

“Waitrose in Twyford has a metal mesh floor and it had been tipping it down,” she said of the incident.

“I walked in and a friend behind me said, ‘Emma, how are you?’ and I turned and I completely slipped.”

Store staff came to Emma’s assistance and offered her first aid and a wheelchair to use to complete her shopping but she decided to walk.

“It took the wind out of me, and I bruised myself,” Emma said.

“But I hobbled off and got my fish. I was in a bit of pain so I went directly to Physiocare in Twyford who saw me straight away and said that I had completely ‘mashed’ underneath the knee cap.

“By Friday I couldn’t even stand up into the shower. I got into the shower and burst into tears and said to my husband: ‘I can’t move’.”

Now that the initial shock of the fall has subsided Emma is warning others to be vigilant, especially in the current wet weather.

She is also speaking with store staff and the head office, located in Bracknell, demanding that they improve their attention to customer safety.

“In health and safety there is a lot of red tape but there are some things that you have to take seriously,” she said.

“If I had that sort of thing at work I would make sure there were rugs down or mats down. There were no rugs down even when I went for my second physio appointment and passed by.”

Emma also noted that there were no ‘wet floor’ signs visible in the foyer, only once inside the store.

“I’m really, really angry about it. I’m 60 and I will heal but if you are very elderly and you fall?

“When it comes to the safety of the general public and you’ve got a metal floor get some mats down before somebody else slips and falls. Particularly an elderly person who could slip and fall, and that’s it."

It has taken almost £400 worth of treatment to start seeing improvements in her knee and more appointments and home exercises are ahead.

When Emma communicated this to the customer service team at headquarters she was gifted a £40 evoucher to spend with John Lewis ltd which she declined.

“I decided to write to Waitrose, offering an olive branch [asking] 'please will you pay for my physio?’. A woman looked into it and said they are not at fault.

“But I’m only having physio because of the fall.”

For now, Emma has said that she has left her situation ‘in the hands of a lawyer’ as she continues her physiotherapy programme.  

“Physiocare have been brilliant. I can’t fault them. They’ve been busy but they fitted me in and with their help I am getting there."

A communication sent from Waitrose to Emma said that they ‘do not believe the Waitrose Twyford store has breached their legal obligations’.

A spokesperson from Waitrose HQ  told the Advertiser: "We are very sorry to hear about this customer's experience and are in touch with her directly."