Supermarket slip and fall cases in Australia are public liability claims where injured shoppers seek compensation from retailers like Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, or IGA for injuries caused by hazards such as wet floors, spills, or poor maintenance. To make a claim, you need to prove the supermarket was negligent in its duty of care. Successful claims can result in compensation for medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Getting injured is probably the last thing you expect when you go shopping. But supermarket slip and fall accidents that result in injury claims in Australia are more common than you might think.
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall at Woolworths, Coles, or any other Australian supermarket, this guide will help you understand everything you need to know about your rights and how to make a supermarket slip and fall claim in Australia.
It’s important to keep records of your accident and injuries, so that you’ll have the supporting evidence you need for your Coles or Woolworths slip and fall claim, or for any other supermarket injury claims.
Here are some tips on what to do if you’re injured:
Injuries from slipping and falling in a supermarket can be serious and often result in time off work, surgery, and treatment that can go on for some time. This can cause significant financial stress.
This is why, in Australia, we have a safety net for people injured in slip and fall accidents in public buildings like supermarkets; a safety net that provides you with financial support while you recover.
So it makes sense to claim compensation for your injuries. And if your injuries are more serious, you might also be entitled to a lump sum slip and fall payout. Read on to learn how to claim everything you’re entitled to, and how to get help with your claim.
Coles and Woolworths injury claims are quite common in Australia, along with other supermarkets, including Aldi and IGA. All supermarkets in Australia have a duty of care towards shoppers and staff. This means they have to take reasonable steps to prevent injuries from hazards. This could include:
Hazards don’t just include wet floors and obstructions. Faulty or malfunctioning doors, poorly maintained escalators, misplaced entry and exit mats, and dangerously stacked shelves are all potential causes of injuries that may result in supermarket slip and fall payouts.
If a supermarket has failed in its duty of care to you and you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, then it’s likely you’re entitled to compensation. Some of the more common slip and fall injuries include bruising, soft tissue damage, and sprains. More serious supermarket slip and fall claims are for injuries like head injuries, compound fractures, and broken bones.
A specialist lawyer will review your circumstances and tell you how much you can claim.
In a high-profile Woolworths slip and fall case in 2020, a woman made a claim for $1.3 million for slipping on a grape and sustaining injuries that led to a hip replacement. The claim was successful because it was shown that the supermarket had failed in its duty of care to the customer.
In another recent case involving a Coles slip and fall, the supermarket paid out $300,000 to a shopper who slipped on a wet floor in front of a refrigerated cabinet, resulting in a serious injury to her ankle, which required surgery. Although spillages and wet floors are common around refrigerated cabinets, in this instance, the supermarket had failed to clean up the floor promptly and was therefore found liable.
Supermarket slip and fall payouts in Australia vary greatly depending on the extent of the injuries caused by the accident. When you make a claim, you’re actually making a public liability claim against the supermarket, and you might be able to claim amounts for the following:
If your injuries are serious, a lump sum claim for pain and suffering can be a significant portion of your public liability claim payout.
| State | Maximum Amount* |
| New South Wales | $804,000 |
| Victoria | $680,160 |
Supermarket slip and fall payouts in Australia often run into tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and, in rare cases, millions of dollars.
*As of January 2026
In the following sections, we’ve summarised your rights and what you’ll need to prove your slip and fall claim.
It’s important to understand that if you’re injured in a slip and fall accident at a supermarket, you’re not automatically entitled to claim compensation. To make a successful claim, you need to show that the supermarket was negligent and could have taken action to prevent the accident.
For example, if there’s a liquid spill in a supermarket that causes you to slip and fall, but the supermarket staff haven’t had the opportunity to clean up the spill (perhaps because it has just happened), then it’s unlikely the supermarket would be found negligent. On the other hand, if the spill had happened a long time before the accident, but the supermarket failed to clean it up or do anything to prevent customers from being injured, then it’s far more likely that the supermarket would be found liable.
Even if you were hurt in a minor slip and fall accident in a supermarket, you may still be entitled to a slip and fall payout, as injuries can get worse over time. So it’s worth getting in touch with a public liability lawyer to get an opinion on whether you have a valid claim. For more information, you can also read our Guide to Public Liability Compensation Claims.
To make a successful supermarket injury claim, you need to:
In other words, your lawyer will need to prove that the supermarket was negligent and didn’t meet its duty of care to keep you safe while you were shopping, causing you to have an accident that led to an injury.
Supermarket compensation claims need to be made within three years of the date of injury. If you weren’t aware of your injury at the time of your accident, this three-year window may begin from the date you became aware. In the case of minors or if you have a disability, the claim limit is six years.
Yes, you can sue a supermarket in Australia for a slip and fall injury if you can prove the supermarket was negligent in maintaining a safe environment.
You shouldn’t need to pay any money to your lawyer unless you win. The idea of suing Woolworths or Coles for injury compensation might seem daunting. After all, they’re large corporations that can afford expensive lawyers. But the reality is, although the legal arguments over liability for your injury might seem complex, the process of suing a supermarket is actually quite simple for you if you choose the right lawyer.
If you’re suing Woolworths, Coles or any other supermarket, you’re actually making a claim for compensation against the supermarket’s public liability insurer. Public liability insurance is there to cover injuries caused by negligence on the part of the business. So you’re really just claiming what you’re entitled to.
If you’re suing Woolworths, Coles or any other supermarket, you’re actually making a claim for compensation against the supermarket’s public liability insurer. Public liability insurance is there to cover injuries caused by negligence on the part of the business. So you’re really just claiming what you’re entitled to.
Our specialist public liability lawyer can assess your situation over the phone and advise you on your likelihood of success. If you pursue your claim and the lawyer offers no win no fee terms, you won’t have to pay anything until after you receive your supermarket slip and fall payout. Take care which lawyer you choose, though, as some no win no fee lawyers will still make you pay their expenses if they’re unsuccessful with your claim.
A specialist lawyer will review your circumstances and tell you how much you can claim.
Here are some of the most common questions we get about supermarket slip and fall claims:
Supermarket slip and fall payouts vary widely depending on your injuries—from a few thousand dollars for minor injuries to hundreds of thousands or even over a million dollars for serious, life-changing injuries. The amount depends on your medical expenses, lost income, future care needs, and pain and suffering. We can give you a realistic estimate once we understand your specific situation.
You generally have three years from the date of your accident to start a claim, or from when you first became aware of your injury if it wasn’t immediately obvious. For children or people with disabilities, this extends to six years. Don’t wait, though, as evidence can disappear and memories fade, so it’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible after your accident.
Yes, you can still claim even if you were partly responsible for your accident. In cases where both you and the supermarket share fault, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of responsibility—this is called contributory negligence. For example, if you didn’t see a bright warning sign, you might be found 20-50% at fault, but you’d still receive the remaining percentage of your compensation.
The strongest evidence includes photos of the hazard that caused your fall, photos of your injuries, witness contact details, CCTV footage (which supermarkets usually have), incident reports filed with the store, medical records, and receipts for expenses. Even if you didn’t gather everything at the time, don’t worry—we can help obtain evidence like CCTV footage and store records through the legal process.
Most supermarket slip and fall cases settle without ever going to court—around 99% are resolved through negotiation with the supermarket’s insurer. We handle all the negotiations for you, and only if we can’t reach a fair settlement would we recommend going to court. Either way, you’re protected by our no win, no fee guarantee, so there’s no financial risk to you.
It depends on how long the spill was there and whether the supermarket had a reasonable opportunity to clean it up or warn customers. If the spill literally just happened seconds before you walked past, it’s unlikely you’d have a successful claim. But if it had been there for even a short time and staff knew or should have known about it, you may still have a valid claim—each case is different.
Any injury caused by the supermarket’s negligence can qualify for compensation, including injuries like broken bones, head injuries, spinal damage, or hip fractures requiring surgery. Even if your injury seemed minor at first but worsened over time or led to ongoing problems, you can still claim.
While you can make a claim yourself, having a specialist lawyer significantly increases your chances of success and the amount you’ll receive. Supermarkets have professional insurers and lawyers working to minimise payouts, and they know most people don’t understand their full entitlements. We work on a no win, no fee basis, so you don’t pay unless we win, and we typically secure much larger settlements than people could achieve on their own.
To find out whether you can make a supermarket slip and fall claim, speak to a specialist public liability lawyer at Law Partners today on 131515. Law Partners is Australia’s largest specialist personal injury firm, and we win over 99% of our cases.
Gillian Potts
Partner
An accredited specialist in personal injury law with expertise across medical negligence, public liability and motor accident compensation claims, in a career spanning the best part of two decades.
Our senior lawyers will assess your case for free.
