Thompson v Woolworths (Q'land) Pty Ltd

In *Thompson v Woolworths (Q'land) Pty Ltd*, the High Court of Australia considered an appeal from a decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal concerning the liability of a supermarket for injuries sustained by a customer. The dispute arose from an incident where the appellant, Ms. Thompson, slipped on a grape in the produce aisle of a Woolworths supermarket, suffering injuries. She alleged negligence on the part of the respondent, Woolworths, in failing to maintain a safe shopping environment.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether Woolworths had breached its duty of care to Ms. Thompson. This involved determining whether the presence of the grape constituted a foreseeable risk of injury, and if so, whether Woolworths had taken reasonable steps to prevent such an occurrence. The court also had to consider the adequacy of the cleaning and inspection procedures implemented by Woolworths in the produce section.

The High Court, in its joint judgment, affirmed the principles of negligence applicable in such circumstances. It was held that while a supermarket owes a duty of care to its customers to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, the mere presence of a foreign object on the floor does not automatically establish a breach of that duty. The court reasoned that the risk of a grape being present in the produce aisle was inherent to the nature of the business. Crucially, the court found that Woolworths had in place reasonable procedures for inspecting and cleaning the aisles, and there was no evidence to suggest that these procedures were not followed or were themselves inadequate. Therefore, the presence of the grape, while unfortunate, did not demonstrate a failure by Woolworths to exercise reasonable care.

The appeal was dismissed.