March 9, 2022 4.30 pm This story is over 24 months old

‘Disgusted’ Lincoln woman calls on Sainsbury’s to fix pot holes after ‘painful fall’

Maria says she injured her foot and knee
Maria showing the offending 'pot hole'. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

A Lincoln woman who says she suffered a fall in Sainsbury’s car park is calling on the supermarket to fix ‘various pot holes’ – but has been left disappointed by a lack of response on the issue.

Maria Taylor parked at the Tritton Road store before walking though an empty parking bay. She says her ankle rolled in the uneven ground which unbalanced her and she fell to the ground at around 3.50pm on January 23, 2022

Maria told The Lincolnite she is worried about other people hurting themselves in one of the ‘pot hole’ type dips in the car park, and wants something to be done about it. After the incident happened in January the area was coned off, but she says in the three times she has been back since it wasn’t.

There are multiple ‘pot hole’ type dips in the road in this area of the car park at Sainsbury’s on Tritton Road in Lincoln. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

Sainsbury’s said it is working closely with its maintenance teams to assess the car park and the space is coned off, although when The Lincolnite met Maria on site on Wednesday morning the cones were not yet in place.

At the time of the fall, Maria says she couldn’t get up due to the pain in her foot, ankle and knee and the duty manager, who is first aid trained, went to see her after being found by a witness. She completed an accident form before attempting a short drive home, but she spent “a very uncomfortable night as the pain in my foot and my knee kept me awake”.

Maria says the next day the swelling in her knee was still the same, and her foot was unbearable to walk on due to the pain. She went to A&E, and fortunately had no broken bones, but says she suffered soft tissue injuries.

The ‘pot hole’ that Maria believes caused her fall. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

However, she doesn’t feel Sainsbury’s has done enough since it happened and told The Lincolnite: “I am disgusted that they have both done anything. To date [March 9], I have not had a single call, letter or email from Sainsbury’s. I have contacted the store several times and have been reassured that the matter was being dealt with and to expect contact.

“I was passing just over a week later and asked to speak to the store manager. He was very apologetic for no-one being in touch and gave me a bunch of flowers as an apology for the company having not contacted me.”

Maria says she’s still waiting to hear back again about what will be done about the incident, and whether the car park will be fixed.

Her calls included last Saturday, March 5, when she told the store manager she was “disgusted, angry, and frustrated” at the lack of any contact.

“I told him that I would be seeking legal advice as I am now having to get my knee looked at by an orthopaedic specialist.

Showing the depth of the ‘pot holes’. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

She also told the supermarket she would be contacting the local media as nothing had been done about the ‘pot holes’. Within 48 hours of The Lincolnite contacting Sainsbury’s, the supermarket chain said its store colleagues would be in touch with Maria directly to provide an update about the car park and appease any further concerns she may have.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Safety is our highest priority. We are working closely with our maintenance teams to assess this area of the car park and the space is coned off in the meantime to prevent this from happening again.”