Work Accidents Claims

Accident at work moving fridge

Bolt Burdon Kemp acted for a Claimant who was injured in an accident at work. He was asked by his employer to move a large fridge down some stairs on his own using a trolley. As he moved the fridge it slipped and as he tried to put the fridge back on the trolley he felt immediate pain to his back and decided to bring a work accident claim. We obtained medical opinion from an spinal expert who confirmed that the Claimant sustained strain to the lumbar spine region as a result of his accident at work which aggravated symptoms of a pre existing condition in his lower back by a period of 12 months. We successfully settled the case and obtained compensation in the sum of £25,000 for his work accident claim.

Accident caused by a detached excavator bucket

The Claimant suffered severe orthopaedic, neurological and psychiatric injuries when struck on the head and left (dominant) arm by a 1-tonne bucket that became detached from an excavator and fell on him. He was rendered unconscious immediately. He suffered a left brachial plexus and arterial vascular injury; the left circumflex nerve was ruptured, the medial cord was contused and the lateral cord narrowed. There was also a dislocation of the acromio-clavicular joint, a fracture of the left radius and fractures to the metatarsals of both feet. The Claimant underwent several operations and remained for many months in very severe pain. We recovered £800,000.00 for this man whose dominant arm was functionally useless as a result of the accident and who consequently was unlikely to work in any capacity again.

Accident on the Thames

Mr K was working on a structure floating on the Thames, constructed of scaffold poles and boards secured by rope, about 100m long. The boards were only a couple of inches above water level and were often wet. Mr K was using a jack hammer which slipped off the wet concrete, and punctured his foot. We recovered over £6,000 for him.

Anaesthetists Assistant suffers back injury during manual handling accident

We acted for a man who worked in a hospital as an anaesthetist assistant. He was assisting the anaesthetist turn a heavy patient onto her side when he suffered a back injury. The anaesthetist turned the patients head and neck and our client was required to turn the rest of her body. There was no manual handling equipment available to use and no additional members of staff to assist. The NHS Trust admitted breach of duty. He was diagnosed with suffering a prolapsed disc. We obtained £50,000 compensation for our client.

Assault by hospital inmate

Mrs M a 62 year old care assistant at a psychiatric hospital, was assaulted by an inmate in the course of her duties. The assailant should not have been on the unit. Mrs M was deeply traumatised by the event and was unable to return to work. We obtained £60,000 for our client from her employer.

Assault in a pub

We acted for Miss J, a barmaid, when a fight broke out in the bar she was working in, and an ashtray was thrown and struck her on the back of her head. She sustained a head injury and we recovered £16,000 in compensation.

Back Injury at work

We acted for Miss E - a residential care worker who injured her back when a resident in the care home where she worked, lost his balance and fell on top of her. We recovered £20,000.

Back injury caused by moving metal handrails

Our client worked for a company which specialised in weatherproofing and insulating roofs and balconies. He was working on a fourteenth floor balcony, clearing the area for laying insulation, and he and a colleague moved some metal handrails which had been left in the way by another firm of contractors. Our client injured his back as a result and was treated initially with injections, eventually having to undergo an operation to remove one of the discs in his back. He had to have a lot of time off work sick, and was eventually made redundant from his job. We settled the case just before trial for £45,000 plus payment of our client's legal costs.

Back injury suffered after colleague pulls chair away as Claimant sits down

We acted for a lady who was injured at work when one of her colleagues pulled her chair away as she was about to sit down. It appears that this was not done deliberately but nonetheless, our client fell onto her coccyx and suffered a back injury. We obtained £40,000 compensation for this client.

Broken leg on building site

Mr G was a shutterer working on a building site. An RSJ fell onto his leg, fracturing his tibial plateau (knee joint). Off work for 3 months, he later made a full recovery and he won £30,000 in compensation.

Burns caused by hot fat

Mr K was employed as a chef at the Greyhound Pub. The deep fat fryers were broken. The fault had been reported to his employers but nothing was done. Mr K was advised to use a pan of hot oil on the stove to deep fry food. During the course of the evening the fat became burnt. Mr K told the restaurant manager that the fat was burnt and no good for frying but he was ordered to continue cooking deep fried food. Mr K decided to move the pan of hot oil to the side of the kitchen. There was very little room to manoeuvre. Whilst he was moving the pan of hot oil his arm got burnt by the adjacent grill causing him to lose his grip on the pot of hot oil. The hot oil spilt on to his hand and the foot of a colleague. Mr K suffered burns to his right hand and forearm. Mr K was sacked by his employers shortly after the accident and he resolved not to go back to work as a chef. Liability was admitted by the pub’s insurers but proceedings had to be issued and served before the claim was settled for £25,000 plus costs.

Care workers lifting injury

Mrs O was a care worker working in an old people's home and employed by the London Borough of Camden. Part of her job was to help lift patients. As a result of the Council's unsafe lifting practices, she developed a back injury which prevented her from working. She was awarded £90,000 at trial.

Carpenter overcome by solvent fumes

Our client, a carpenter, was overcome by solvent fumes in a confined space while using a strong adhesive to fit floor tiles. The employer had failed to assess the risk of this happening, or to choose a safer alternative product. Our client suffered hallucinations, thought he was going to die, and lost consciousness. He later tried to return to carpentry work but was troubled by flash-backs of the incident whenever he used adhesives. The employer resisted the claim, and we took the case to trial, where our client was awarded £145,000 damages.

Construction site accident

Mr C, a labourer on a construction site, suffered injury when a concrete breeze block fell on him, striking his back. We recovered more than £15,000 compensation.

Crush injury to fingers

Our client was unloading two large excavator buckets from a tipper lorry whilst at work. In order to reach the buckets he stood on the forks of a fork lift truck. One of the Claimant’s colleagues was operating the fork lift truck and he moved it up too high which trapped our client’s left hand in between two parts of the truck. Primary liability was admitted by the defendants (employers) however one third was deducted to reflect the Claimant’s own negligence because he had been instructed not to stand on the forks in this way and there was a sign on the fork warning against this. Our client suffered crush injuries to three of his fingers on his left hand including amputation of the tip of his index finger which required complicated surgery on two occasions. Fortunately he was able to return to work however he continued to suffer from severe cold sensitivity, weakness on gripping and pain. We negotiated compensation for the Claimant including his costs in the sum of £145,000.

Crush Injury to hand

Our client, a low-loader driver, had his left thumb crushed when loading heavy equipment as a result of his colleague's negligence. The employer admitted responsibility and after collecting evidence about his injuries and his future job prospects, we negotiated compensation of £113,000.

Dermatitis

A university cleaner was exposed to chromic acid used to clean laboratory glassware. She had a pre-existing psoriasis, which was severely exacerbated by the exposure. She was unable to work as a cleaner again. Compensation was awarded at £42,000.

Dumper truck falls into a cable pit

Our client was employed as a ground worker at a construction site on Guernsey. He was driving a dumper truck moving soil from an excavation site to a spoil heap. The construction site had several cable pits which were not properly covered or marked. The ground beneath our client's truck gave way and the truck fell into a cable pit. Our client was thrown forwards and the left side of his chest hit the roll bar of the dumper truck. He suffered a back injury, several broken ribs and a haemopneumothorax which required hospital treatment and an operation. Our client tried to return to work but was unable to cope. The Defendant's insurers admitted liability for the accident and paid our client £70,000 in compensation for his injuries.

Exposure to chemicals

Mrs F was a nurse at the North Middlesex Hospital who used a chemical called glutaraldehyde to sterilise surgical equipment. As a result of the hospital's failure to take special precautions when instructing staff to use the chemical, Mrs F became severely asthmatic from prolonged exposure to the chemical. As a result she had to give up nursing, a profession she dearly loved. The case went to trial in the High Court. The judge found that the hospital's failure had indeed led to our client contracting this most "insidious" form of asthma, and awarded compensation of £225,000 - the highest award at the time for this type of case.

Fall at work

A male client sustained an os calcis fracture to his heel, after having fallen from some height at work. His injury meant that he could not walk for longer than 400m unaided and that he was unable to pursue his hobbies of cricket and squash. His career and work were unaffected by the injury. A settlement of £20,000 was negotiated.

Fall from a rooftop

Mr M, a 34 year old shutterer, fell from an unguarded rooftop 30 feet to ground below, sustaining fractures to both wrists. We secured him £80,000 in compensation.

Fall in car park at work

We acted for a client who suffered a back injury after falling over in the car park at work. Our client had left the office for the evening and as she made her way over to her car, she tripped over some steps and fell on the ground. She didn’t see the steps because the lighting in the car park was broken and it was very dark. Our client suffered an acceleration of a pre existing back injury in the accident and was unable to work in her previous job because she was unable to sit down for long periods of time. In addition to the back injury, she suffered with depression after the accident due to the pain and the impact that the accident had on her life. We obtained £116,784.95 compensation for our client as a result of her injuries suffered in the accident.

Falling concrete block

Mr H, a construction worker, was hit on his head by a falling concrete block. He sustained a fractured skull, loss of consciousness and permanent loss of sense of smell and taste. Psychologically he suffered some cognitive deficits, reduced organisational skills, short term memory problems and mild depression. He won £285,000 in compensation.

Falling pallet causes head injury

Mr R sustained serious head injuries when, while he was working as a forecourt attendant, a metal pallet fell from the back of a lorry onto his head during the delivery of stock to the service station. Liability was agreed in the proportion 90/10 in the Claimant's favour. Mr R sustained a fracture of the left side of the skull, contusion of the right temple lobe of the brain and a thin subdural haematoma in the right parietotemporal region. Fortunately, Mr R made a remarkable recovery from his injuries and we were delighted to achieve a settlement for him of £150,000.00.

Fatal accident widow

We acted for the widower and sister of a lady who was knocked over and killed by a bus. They brought a fatal accident claim for compensation against the driver of the bus and his employers. The claim included bereavement damages, the funeral costs and loss of dependency. Unfortunately the police investigation report concluded that the deceased was partly to blame for the accident and therefore a deduction had to be factored into the compensation to reflect this. Court proceedings were issued against the Defendants but the claim settled out of court. We obtained compensation in the sum of £200,000 in settlement of our clients’ fatal accident claim.

Finger injury causes problem for musician

Our client was a music student who was employed as a part time waitress at a chain restaurant. She had finished cutting bread and was carrying the chopping board to the sink to be washed when she slipped on a wet floor. She lost her balance which caused the sharp knife she was carrying on top of the board to move and slice her right index finger. Our client suffered a deep laceration to her finger which involved a complete division of the digital nerves. She underwent surgery and had physiotherapy treatment but unfortunately she continued to suffer from an altered sensation in the finger. This caused problems in relation to carrying plates at work and also playing the violin which was a hobby and also potentially her chosen career as a professional violinist. With our help, she won compensation of £20,000.

Hand caught in machinery

Our client, Mr B, was working as a labourer on a construction site and was asked by one of the foremen to clean the Trommel machine. The Trommel machine was used to crush and breakdown waste from construction sites. Mr B had not been given any training in relation to cleaning the machine. The foreman showed him how to perform this task which involved using a shovel or hand to dislodge debris and soil/rubble that had become caught in the belts, while the belts were moving. The Claimant caught his right hand in the machine and suffered a degloving injury whereby the flesh and skin was torn from his hand. Mr B had to undergo surgery to repair the damage and had two skin grafts to improve the appearance of his hand. We obtained compensation for our client in the sum of £80,000 plus costs.

Head injury whilst working at McDonalds

Our client worked at a McDonald's restaurant. She was serving a customer when suddenly a TV monitor fell from its bracket on the wall and hit her on the head, knocking her to the ground. As a result our client sustained a minor head injury which caused moderate hearing loss, migraines, and a degree of anxiety in that she became very nervous about things falling on her. The migraines were very severe in nature as a result of the accident and affected her 6 days out of every 4 weeks. We referred the Claimant to an expert who treated her migraines with migration which improved her symptoms greatly so that she has now returned to her pre accident level. The ENT expert that we instructed recommended that she use small digital hearing aids in both ears to remedy her hearing loss. The Claimant was absent from work for 2 weeks but was paid in full. We obtained compensation for our client in the sum of £38,250.

Hungarian National work accident at food packing company

We pursued a work accident compensation claim for our client who was a Hungarian national. The Claimant worked at a food packing company in England. His job involved compiling orders for large hotels in London. On the day that he suffered the work accident he lifted a bag of onions weighing 25 kg from a pallet that had been stacked above his head. As he lifted the bag of onions and twisted to place it onto a pallet behind him he felt a sharp pain to his back. As part of the work accident compensation claim we obtained a report in relation to our client’s injuries. Our client suffered an aggravation of a pre existing injury to his back. We argued, as part of the work accident compensation claim that although our client had been given manual handling training it had been given in English. No account had been taken for the Claimant’s poor English at the time. We at Bolt Burdon Kemp obtained work accident compensation for our client in the sum of £17,000.

Keyboard operator’s upper limb disorder

Ms T worked for a large company. She was conscientious, and her work involved long hours of keyboard work at the office, stretching well in to the weekends. She began to develop painful upper limb symptoms but struggled on until she was physically unable to continue. She was depressed and very worried about asserting her claim, for fear of jeopardising her job and the sick pay she was receiving. We investigated her medical condition, and found that she had 3 separately-diagnosed upper limb disorders, some caused by her work and some not. Legal proceedings were issued, and within 6 months of those proceedings being sent to the opponent, we had negotiated a settlement of her injury claim, and advised her on a package of terms for voluntary redundancy, totalling £45,000.

Last minute settlement for motor cycle courier

Mr B was 16 years old and working as a motorcycle courier. As he was driving his scooter, the door of a parked van opened and to avoid a collision, he was forced onto the opposite carriageway where he was struck by a motorcycle coming in the opposite direction. Mr B sustained catastrophic head and spinal injuries. We sued both the van driver and Mr B's employer, the latter having provided a vehicle which Mr B was too young and untrained to ride, and effectively the means for him to have a serious accident. Days before the liability trial, both Defendants jointly accepted 90% liability for our client’s accident.

Lifting a roll of cloth

We acted for Mr F a cloth cutter who injured himself whilst lifting a heavy roll of cloth from floor/ankle level to above his shoulders. He recovered £12,500 compensation.

Nurse's lifting injury

Ms S, a Nursing sister, injured her neck while moving a large immobile patient in bed. Ms S's injury meant that she was unable to return to 'hands-on' nursing although she found a clinic-based job, which did not involve any lifting or moving. Ms S had had two previous firms of solicitors acting for her. Neither firm had managed to understand the case properly nor obtain the appropriate expert medical evidence. We did and as a result obtained £70,000 compensation for our client.

Partial amputation of index finger on dominant hand

We acted for a lady whose right index finger got caught in a heavy faulty door when it slammed at high speed. The accident occurred at work. As a result of the accident she lost most of the pulp of her index finger. She underwent plastic surgery to try to reshape her finger tip but she was left with pain in the finger and some functional problems. The finger also represented an obvious cosmetic deformity. As a result of the accident she also developed psychological symptoms including depression and anxiety and she underwent psychological therapy. We obtained £65,000 compensation for our client.

Pipe laggers asbestos injury

Mr B had worked as a pipe lagger at Michelin Tyre's plant in Stoke. While working there he had come into contact with asbestos, which had lagged the pipes. He had inhaled large quantities of the dust at a time (back in the 1950's and 1960's) when he did not realise that to do so was extremely unsafe. Much later (and well after he had retired), he was diagnosed with asbestosis and sued his former employers for the damage they had done to him. He was at risk of contracting lung cancer and would probably require specialist nursing care for the last years of his life. A High Court Judge awarded him over £63,000.

Prison worker attacked by inmate

Mr Y was employed by the Defendant, the Home Office, at a prison as a civilian instructor teaching inmates manual trades. On 16th November 1994 he was assaulted by two inmates in the course of their escape from the prison. Mr Y suffered a laceration requiring 13 stitches and a hairline fracture to his skull. He subsequently became depressed and made suicide attempts. He developed post traumatic stress disorder and took medical retirement. The Home Office, who initially denied liability, made an offer to settle the claim for £18,000. The case settled the day before trial for £180,000.00, which was one of the highest awards for post traumatic stress disorder ever made.

Production worker allergic to latex

Our client was a production worker in a factory which re-cycled empty ink cartridges for computer printers. He was issued with latex rubber gloves, to which he was allergic. His employers failed to respond promptly or adequately to his complaints, and he developed asthma. We took court proceedings, which were settled shortly before trial for £50,000.

Production worker’s asthma at electronics factory

Our client produced electronics components for the defence industry. She used a combination of fluxes, solders and cleaning fluids, some of which contained a known asthmagen. A substantial increase in the number of soldering operations, together with a new combination of chemicals, provoked an asthmatic reaction which became long-term. The claim was settled for £30,000.

Repetitive strain injury for industrial machinist

Our client made large industrial bags for storage of sand and similar bulky materials. She had to make repeated unergonomic movements of her left arm and shoulder, which aggravated and accelerated an underlying medical condition by 2 years. Compensation was agreed at £13,000.

Right hand caught in mill

Our client, a production worker, operated a large mill producing rubber mats for cars. As a result of the employer's faulty safety arrangements and inadequate safety procedures, his right hand was crushed by a roller. He had made a partial recovery by the time we had secured an admission of liability and compensation of £105,000.

Roadworkers claim for vibration white finger

Our client was a ganger on a road building and maintenance team. He used a jack hammer for up to 3 hours at a stretch without a break over a prolonged period. The vibration of the hammer caused his condition (also known as Reynaud's phenomenon). His fingers were blanched at the tips, causing him pain and stiffness and went numb in cold weather. The lack of any health and safety checks on the time he was using the hammer, and the lack of any warnings from his employers, contributed to the Defendant's wish to settle the case. He accepted the Defendant's offer of settlement of over £12,000.

Sash window falls on cleaners back

Mr B was employed as a cleaner and maintenance man. One of his tasks involved clearing a roof space of litter. The only way out onto the roof was to hoist himself through an old sash window, which had to be propped open with a mop handle. He had complained about this aspect of the job but had been told to "get on with it". However, one day, as he was struggling through the window, the mop handle was dislodged, and the sash came down on his back. Court proceedings were issued against his employers for unsafe working practices. The consultant spinal surgeon we instructed for the case reported that the accident had damaged our client's spine, but that this had exacerbated a pre-existing problem which Mr B would eventually have suffered from even had he not had his accident. The case settled (with an admission of liability) for £23,000.

Scaffolding Accident

Mr D was 33 years old when he was working for a sub-contractor fitting fire doors at a nuclear bunker site in Northwood. He slipped from a scaffold platform, fell 2 metres, and sustained a fracture to his spine at T12, and left scapula. He was off work for 1 year and we recovered £125,000 in compensation for him.

Settlement for housing worker threatened at work

Our client was employed as a support worker for a housing association, specialising in providing accommodation for men who had been homeless or in prison. The service users she supported often had drug and alcohol problems and anger management issues. She was threatened by two service users who both became fixated with her, and when their ‘advances’ were rebuffed, later made abusive and violent threats to her and her family. Our client went off on maternity leave some months after all this started, but felt that due to the lack of support from her employers, she could not return. She was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by the Claimant’s expert and her treating doctors. The Defendant’s expert diagnosed her psychological problems (which included intrusive thoughts, flashbacks and nightmares) as post natal depression. Finding it difficult dealing with the litigation due to her ongoing psychological problems, our client agreed an out of court settlement with her employers for £75,000 plus costs.

Slip at Mcdonalds

Mr P was a student working in McDonalds part-time, when he slipped on a wet floor. He sustained a fracture to his right dominant wrist, and had to repeat a year at University because of his injuries. We secured him £17,500 in compensation.

Slip on wet staircase

Our client’s workplace was arranged over two floors, connected by an external staircase which was open to the elements, broken, and poorly-lit. One winter's evening he slipped and fell, sustaining damage to his ankle ligaments from which he made a partial recovery. The company went into liquidation and we had to restore it to the Companies Register before suing it and obtaining compensation from its insurers of £31,000.

Stonemason with RSI accepts offer two days before trial

Our client worked as a stonemason and her work involved some heavy lifting and working with her arms above shoulder height and often in awkward positions. Our client started experiencing pain in her left shoulder, associated with repetitive nature of her work, which she reported to her manager and the HR department.

However, little was done to risk assess our client’s working conditions and to resolve her health problems. Our client was later diagnosed as suffering from tendinitis in her left shoulder. She subsequently developed tendinitis to her right shoulder. Her employer made her redundant. Our client had to have two surgeries on both her shoulders to treat tendinitis and alleviate the pain resulting from it.

We sued our client’s employer for their failures to carry out adequate risk assessments and ensure that our client has adequate rest breaks, etc.

The medical expert we instructed reported that our client’s injury to her right shoulder was caused by her work and that as a result of this, she would be disadvantaged in the work place for a period of five years. It was also found that our client’s injury to her left shoulder was aggravated by her work.

The employer admitted liability but disputed the extent to which they were responsible for our client’s injury and the value of our client’s claim including her loss of earnings claim. We successfully negotiated a settlement of our client’s claim two days before the trial. Our client received £40,000.

Trip at work

Ms A tripped at work on a section of packing strapping which had been left lying around. She has a serious knee injury and could not work for several months. She had a good sick pay scheme at work but had to have a further operation on her knee to improve her condition. We settled the case for £21,000.

Weils disease

G was a foreman in charge of works by the side of a London canal. Rats infested the site and had urinated on the building materials. Our client was not issued with any warning cards regarding this disease and when he consulted his doctor about his flu like symptoms there was a delay in the diagnosis. Our client became very ill indeed and was unable to work again. We sued his employer and obtained a six figure sum in compensation.

Welding Accident

We acted for Mr C who was employed as a welder and was injured in the course of welding 2 pipes together. He suffered injury to his neck and head and we recovered £31,000 for him.

Widows claim for engineer with mesothelioma

Mrs B was the widow of a retired engineer, who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma 15 years after he had retired and died from that disease. He had had a number of different employers during his working life, and his widow knew little of his working conditions. A friend of the deceased was able to provide some information about those conditions. We investigated the employment and medical history, and analysed a large quantity of relevant records from a former employer. Legal proceedings were issued and served and shortly afterwards we negotiated a settlement of £25,000.

Work Accident Claim – crushed finger

We acted for a young labourer in a work accident claim. At the time of the accident he was moving pieces of concrete from the back of a van into a skip at his employer’s yard. It was a dark winter evening and there was hardly any light in the yard. The pieces of concrete had been cut up by one of the claimant’s colleagues. The claimant was moving a particularly large piece of concrete with one of his colleagues when his colleague let go of his end without warning. The claimant was not expecting this and his left index finger was crushed against the side of the skip and the piece of concrete. The claimant suffered a serious fracture (compound comminuted fracture) of the index finger. He underwent surgery to fix the fracture and had extensive hand therapy however he was left with permanent symptoms in that he was unable to bend the finger properly. Liability was initially denied by the employers as they alleged a different version of events in which the claimant was to blame. We issued court proceedings against them and they admitted primary liability. We obtained £55,000 compensation for the claimant in this work accident claim.