Fall in supermarket could cost mother her home
Slipping over in Sainsbury’s could cost a woman her home
after she was left with a broken hip and unable to work.
Mother-of-three Jackie Osborne,
of Millfield, New Ash Green, visited Sainsbury’s at Pepperhill when
she slipped on a wet floor and broke her hip.
But the supermarket giant says
it’s nothing to do with them and she should take her pending legal
claim to the cleaners who they say were responsible.
Mrs Osborne, 57, said: "It was
back in May and I popped down to Sainsbury’s because I needed to
get my photo done and I wanted to get a few bits.
"It was the day before I started
a new job working as a support worker. I was looking at something
on the shelves and as I turned around my legs went from under me
and I just went to the floor.
"There weren’t any signs put out
and I had to be taken away in an ambulance. I ended up with a metal
plate – called a dynamic screw – being put in my leg.
"They held the job over for me
as long as they could but eventually they had to terminate my
contract. It wasn’t until November that I could really do anything
again and finding another job has been impossible."
Mrs Osborne, who is living on
about £300 a month carers’ benefit, looks after for her 22-year-old
son Daniel who suffers from Simpson–Golabi–Behmel syndrome, a rare
inherited congenital disorder. He also has water on the
brain.
The single parent, who was set
to have worked with young offenders before her accident, has been
forced to sell her car and put her house on the market in order to
survive.
She added: "I got in contact
with a no win no fee solicitor but it hasn’t gone any further
because Sainsbury’s has said it’s nothing to do with them, it’s
their cleaning contractors.
"Nothing seems to be happening
and I’m going to be left destitute. I don’t want to lose my home
because of this and it’s not fair to my son if we have to leave
because he has his friends here and has lived in this house since
he was 11.
"I just feel it’s so unfair.
I’ve worked all my life and now I just don’t know what to
do."
A spokesman for Sainsbury’s
said: "We are aware of Ms Osborne’s claim and this has been
redirected to the contractors for investigation. It would be
inappropriate for us to comment further."
11/01/13