Case Study

Case Summary

Incident

In May of 2018, Grace paid for several items before going to leave the store, she noticed a pair of shorts on her way out and asked a nearby shop assistant if it would be possible to exchange the shorts she had just bought. Grace was short on time so decided against the exchange and put the shorts she had bought back in her bag and placed the other pair she had been looking at back on the table.

Afterwards she was approached by a security man employed by the store she had just exited. He shouted at the top of his voice words to the effect of “Hey, hey you didn’t pay!”, in a manner which was clearly audible to the members of the public in the vicinity. Grace quickly told the man she had in fact paid for the shorts and showed him her receipt. The security man was not satisfied with the proof of the receipt and further insisted that Grace had not paid for the shorts. Grace had to return to the store where she was spoken to by a manager in a public setting, her bag was searched, and her receipt was examined for a second time.

The words spoken by the security guard falsely accused Grace of shoplifting implied false, misleading, inaccurate, and untrue statements about her. Since the incident, Grace has suffered stress, emotional suffering, embarrassment, loss and has been brought into public scandal, odium, and contempt in her local area.

Case Progression

Court proceedings were instigated, and the case was brought to a successful conclusion.

Case Settlement

The case was settled in the Circuit Court on the 24th of June 2022 for the sum of €9,000.

*Note: Client name changed for GDPR reasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What information will my solicitor need to make a claim?

   In order for your solicitor to proceed with a personal injury claim for you they will need the following information:

   • Details of the person who caused the accident.
   • Names, addresses and contact information of any witnesses to the accident.
   • Where available, photographs of the location of the accident, paying particular attention to the item or area where the accident happened.
   • Name of Gardaí/police and station where the accident was reported – names of any Gardaí who attended the scene of the accident (where applicable).
   • Medical records detailing any injuries/treatment following the accident.
   • Details of any costs incurred following the accident (keep your receipts).
   • Details of any loss of earnings and details of any future loss of earnings if you are to be out of work for a long period of time.
   • Cost of medical treatment – details of future medical treatment needed.

2. How to calculate the value of my claim?

   The Injuries Board Book of Quantum provides us with general guidelines as to how much compensation may be awarded in a personal injury claim and is used by the Injuries Board when they are assessing a personal injury claim. This book was compiled by examining sample cases from over 51,000 closed personal injury cases from 2013 and 2014 and is based on actual court figures. It shows us what personal injury compensation amounts were awarded in the past and help give an estimate as to how much compensation could be awarded based on a person’s specific injuries.