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A nurse who says she slipped on a grape in an Australian grocery store now wants nearly $1 million in compensation

Oct 27, 2020, 23:34 IST
Business Insider
George Pachantouris/Getty Images
  • Charlotte Bobbett says she slipped on a grape in a branch of Australian grocery chain Woolworths in December 2015.
  • Now, she wants 1.3 million Australian dollars ($930,000) compensation for the accident.
  • Bobbett was unable to finish her degree because of the fall, she claimed in a suit, and she has lost earnings as a result.
  • Remarkably, Bobbett isn't the first person to sue Woolworths after supposedly slipping on a grape, after a similar case hit the supermarket in 2016.
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An Australian woman who says she slipped on a grape in a grocery store near Brisbane now wants 1.3 million Australian dollars ($930,000) in compensation.

Nurse Charlotte Bobbett slipped on a grape in the fruit and vegetable section of a Woolworths branch in Australia's Gold Coast area in December 2015, according to her claim, per The Courier Mail.

Nearly five years later, she has filed a claim against Woolworths, Australia's biggest supermarket chain, accusing it of failing to keep its stores safe.

The fall injured her lower back, her shoulder, and hip on her right side, causing her to need a hip replacement, the claim said.

Bobbett is claiming 100,000 Australian dollars ($71,400) for past economic loss and 750,000 Australian dollars ($535,600) for future economic loss. The accident meant she was unable to complete her nursing degree, the claim said, and that she had struggled to find work in the industry.

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She also wants an additional 40,000 Australian dollars ($28,600) for future surgical expenses, which includes a revision to her hip replacement.

Since the fall, she had also been diagnosed with an adjustment disorder and anxiety, according to the claim.

Bobbett accused the supermarket of not keeping the fruit and vegetable section of the store safe enough for customers during the busy Christmas period, adding that it hadn't put non-slip matting on the floor.

Remarkably, Bobbett isn't the first person to sue Woolworths after slipping on a grape.

In 2016, Colleen McQuillan sued a Sydney branch of the supermarket after a similar fall in 2012.

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She was awarded $151,000 Australian dollars ($107,800) in compensation from Woolworths — but lost her case on appeal a year later, and was forced to repay the money.

Woolworths did not immediately reply to Business Insider's request for comment.

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