Costs Right to pay $31,000 in damages to the injured customer | Company

The Supreme Court has ordered wholesaler Cost Right to pay $31,545.17 in damages to an injured customer.

Judge Camille Darville-Gomez said in a ruling dated November 19, 2024 that Cost Right owed a “duty of care” to Pamela Graham, a customer who suffered injuries as a result of a box of tissue paper falling on her while she was shopping. shopping on October 18, 2017.

Graham had pre-existing conditions as a result of a car accident in 2014 and was claimed by the National Insurance Board to be disabled. As a result of her injuries at the Cost Right store, she sought damages of $134,113.14, which the court reduced to $31,545.17.

Cost Right alleged that Graham contributed to her own injuries at their store by failing to take “reasonable steps to ensure her own safety.”

Cost Right manager Raymond Rolle testified that the store’s shelves are stocked to industry standards and that the store’s aisles are cycled every 30 to 60 minutes. Darville-Gomez said this “does not rebut the suspicion” that the box of toilet paper did indeed fall on Graham. She added that Graham reaching for other items on the shelves does not mean she is endangering herself because she was only doing what she had a right to do as a shopper.

Graham presented numerous pieces of evidence testifying to her injuries sustained in Cost Right, which were consistent with what she initially claimed happened to her. Graham claimed she suffered injuries to her left eye and left shoulder. Other injuries to her head, face and neck were not directly related to the Cost Right violation.

Graham also provided documents for “special damages” involving medical expenses that occurred before the date of the accident. Darville-Gomez threw that one out and only took into account the damage to Graham’s left eye and left shoulder, $7,000 and $5,000 respectively, totaling $12,000 in general damages.

Darville-Gomez also ruled that there was a further $19,545.17 in special damages, which included Graham’s visits to Princess Margaret Hospital, the Ash Eye Institute, physiotherapy and medication and follow-up visits to her doctor. She left $7,194.26 out of the original total for items believed to have occurred before the incident, including a visit to Bahamas Vision, visits to Nubirth Hearing Services and Hear Life, as well as costs for an MRI because the MRI had already been invoiced and arranged by the Ministry of Social Affairs.