Shop foots the bill for student's broken ankle

5:05am Wednesday 9th July 2008

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A NORTH-EAST student has received more than £7,000 compensation after she broke her ankle when a shoe heel snapped.

Sophie King, 20, took shoe shop Dolcis to court when her high heel split the first time she wore the shoes, which she bought from Manchester's Trafford Centre.

Miss King, a student at Durham University, was walking along a tram platform when the heel broke.

Her left foot hit the ground and she later needed an ambulance to take her to hospital.

Doctors put screws into her ankle to treat the fracture, and she was in plaster for several weeks.

Miss King, from Knutsford, Cheshire, who is studying English literature at Durham, was forced to quit a waitress job she had arranged for the Christmas holiday following the accident in November 2004.

After waiting for more than three years, she finally won her battle for compensation on June 5, when she was awarded £7,200 at Manchester County Court, as the shoe shop admitted liability. Dolcis has been in administration for more than six months.

Miss King believes she will be affected for the rest of her life. She said: "When I went over on my ankle I thought nothing of it, so we made it to the bar because it was my friend's birthday.

"It got worse and worse and then the next thing I remember was waking up in the ambulance.

"I was gutted. I used to be really sporty and I have only just started to get back into sports.

"The heel was only attached by a couple of threads. It's supposed to be stuck on."

Mike Hardacre, from Manchester law firm Pannone, which represented Miss King, said the Sale of Goods Act gives protection to consumers.

He said: ''Sophie had only bought the shoes a week before and had never worn them.

''In most cases, when the product is faulty you get your money back. Solicitors only get involved if there is an injury.

''This case highlights the fact that consumers are well protected in English law where products purchased are defective.''