damages
Responsibility of accidental damage to supermarket items by customer
<p>I was wondering in the case that a customer accidentally drops an item in a supermarket that results in a damage, is he/she held responsible for paying the damage? What if the arrangement of the items has been in a way that has made the accident likely?</p>

<p>Breaking something in the supermarket would be trespass to goods - compensatory damages equal to the value of the broken goods may be awarded if pursued in court. </p>

<p>If it can be shown that the supermarket was contributorily negligent and/and or their conduct caused the damage in some way, then those damages may be reduced or negatived. This would be a matter of fact determined by reference to the degree to which their conduct contributed to the damage. </p>
