Man, 78, awarded damages for supermarket trolley crash

A SUNDAY morning shopping trip to his local Spar in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, ended in a nightmare for an elderly man when a worker with a loaded trolley crashed into him, causing him to bump into the frozen chicken freezer and on to the ground.

Franklin Le Hanie, 78, severely injured his already compromised hip and he is now in constant pain.

Le Hanie instituted a R400 000 damages claim against Enkwanati 18 CC, the company trading as Midwater Super Spar.

The owners of the Spar denied any liability, but when the case was about to be heard they agreed to settle. In terms of the settlement Le Hanie will receive R150 000 in damages.

He and his wife went shopping on a Sunday in August 2017 at the Super Spar. While they were bending over the flat chest freezer for chicken, a worker pushing an industrial trolley piled high with boxes collided into him.

This saw Le Hanie first flying halfway into the freezer and then on to the ground. His son, named after his father, said his mother also fell and she crashed into the chips display. She, however, was not hurt.

Le Hanie blamed the worker for the accident, as he said the trolley was loaded so high with boxes that he could not see in front of him.

He said he was lawfully on the premises and simply wanted to do shopping. Le Hanie said the worker did not warn the shoppers that he was pushing an overloaded trolley and that they had to get out of his way. He accused the man of being negligent.

Le Hanie suffered a hip and spine injury, and several abrasions. Le Hanie said he had to receive medical treatment and is still suffering from the after-effects. He will also need future surgery.

His son said his father took a knock and was no longer the same person. As he is a pensioner and money is scarce, he has a part-time job transporting goods for a company.

But his father is constantly in pain, so driving around has become a problem, the son said. His father had a hip replacement a few months before the accident and had been recovering.