Workplace Injury Success Stories
Were you injured at work and are considering making a workplace accident claim? It can be helpful to read about other peoples’ experiences so that you can get an idea of what this will involve, and the amount of compensation you might expect to get. We’ve collated some real-life stories from our clients below.
Workplace Bullying and Harassment
BBK act for senior city lawyer
BBK act for a senior city lawyer who sustained severe psychiatric injury at the hands of their employer. Over a period of years, the demands placed upon our client by their company became more and more unsustainable. Signs that their ability to cope was beginning to weaken were missed, or ignored, by those tasked with managing and supporting them. Ultimately, as the burden of working across international time zones only increased, our client sustained a severe psychiatric episode necessitating in-patient treatment. The allegations levied against the employer include failures in respect of ensuring our client was protected against foreseeable psychiatric harm and failing to act upon warning signs that they were struggling to manage their very significant workload. Our client’s prospects for a successful return to work at the level enjoyed previously remain very uncertain.
Claim against law firm for harassment and bullying
BBK acted for a client who worked for a law firm in the accounts department. During the course of his employment, our client was harassed and bullied by his line manager. Soon after joining the firm, the manager began to make suggestive comments and sexual innuendos towards our client. Our client became distressed and depressed as a result of the harassment but felt unable to tell anyone what was happening because the perpetrator was his employer. Soon the manager began to harass our client with telephone calls, in and out of work, as well as show him magazines and photographs of a sexual nature. Soon after the manager began to sexually abuse our client. Our client was no longer able to cope with what was happening to him and disclosed to his mother who reported it to the law firm. The perpetrator admitted what he had done and his employment was terminated. Our client brought a claim against his employer for bullying and sexual harassment which resolved in a five figure sum on the basis that the employer was responsible for the actions of their employee. The compensation our client received allowed him to obtain private therapy to help deal with the distress of what had happened to him.
Senior police officer assaults colleagues
BBK are currently acting for a number of serving police officers in their claims against their employer police force. Sadly the clients were subjected to sexual harassment and sexual assault at the hands of a superior officer. Bravely they reported the superior officer and he was convicted in criminal court for his actions. Unfortunately, however, it appears that the officer had had a history of this type of behaviour and so a claim for negligence is being pursued on the basis that had the officer been dismissed earlier as a result of his actions, these further assaults would not have taken place. The claim is also being brought for harassment and assault on the basis that the police force is responsible for the actions of their employee.
Work Accident Claims
Worker awarded £150,000 in compensation when ring finger amputated in workplace accident
We obtained compensation for a client who suffered a traumatic amputation to his left ring finger, when a colleague accidentally brought the bucket of an excavator down on his hand. Liability was admitted early on by the main contractor which meant that our client had access to early interim payments. This allowed his to trial a cosmetic digital prosthethis to improve the appearance of his injured hand.
The award of compensation will allow our client to undergo further surgery to his hand and provide him with prosthetics for life. He is also likely to be disadvantaged on the open labour market, as he continues to work in manual roles. The award of compensation provides for a large award to cover likely future loss of earnings.
£2.2 million for our client who suffered life-altering injuries whilst working at Battersea Power Station
In July 2020, our client, Mr DM suffered a life-altering incident while working at the Battersea Power Station regeneration project in his role as a steeplejack.
Secured by his ropes above, he was installing stainless steel flues within the famous chimneys above London when his ropes came into contact with the flues’ edge. This caused both his ropes to sever, meaning he fell 13 meters to the ground below. Mr DM sustained life-changing orthopaedic injuries to his lower limbs and pelvis.
A claim was brought against his employer for workplace safety failings.
The case was complicated by allegations of contributory negligence which were robustly disputed. In support, we obtained liability expert evidence and supported the Health & Safety Executive with their investigation.
Whilst we prepared Mr DM’s case by securing the necessary medical reports on his evolving condition, rehabilitation was funded by the defendant’s insurer, facilitating his recovery which he was able to maximise with incredible grit and determination. In addition, we were able to secure interim payments which allowed Mr DM to pay his mortgage, have adaptation works completed and even enjoy short breaks away with his family.
Shortly after court proceedings were initiated, and following negotiations with the defendant, we were able to settle the claim for £2.2 million.
This substantial settlement provides Mr DM with financial security and importantly sufficient funds to secure a more suitable, long-term home for him and his family
Man involved in workplace accident awarded £300,000 in compensation
Our client was working as a mechanical engineer when his arm became trapped in a lathe. As a result he sustained extensive open fractures of the left radius and ulna requiring multiple surgeries. He also developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a Depressive Disorder.
Liability for the accident was admitted which meant that our client could access interim payments to assist him and his family financially. The Defendant also funded rehabilitation which meant that our client could access treatment and therapies on a private basis to assist his recovery.
Unfortunately our client was unable to return to work as a result of his injuries and required ongoing care and assistance.
Settlement was achieved in the sum of £300,000 which will allow our client to continue with treatment and care recommendations as well as affording him and his family financial security.
Supermarket employee receives over £260,000 in compensation following accident at work
Our client worked as a Warehouse Operative for a large supermarket. He was moving items in the warehouse using a pallet truck when the accident happened. As the truck was moving, our client hit a wet patch on the floor, which caused him to skid and collide with a metal safety barrier. He suffered an open double fracture of his ankle and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
After having surgery to his ankle, our client was eventually able to return to work, but at a limited capacity, as he could only walk a short distance. He transferred his claim to us from a previous firm of solicitors, who encouraged him to concede some fault for the accident in order to settle the issue of liability. He was not happy to do this and so he asked us to take over the conduct of his claim.
We arranged for the client to be examined by orthopaedic and psychiatric experts, who reported on the extent of his injuries. After sending the initial reports to the other side, we secured an interim payment for him to cover the cost of private surgery to his ankle and also for some psychological treatment while his claim was ongoing. We also took statements from the client, a previous colleague of his and from members of his family in support of both liability for the accident and the value of his claim.
The supermarket obtained their own medical expert evidence. It was deemed likely by the experts on both sides that our client would require surgery to fuse his ankle in the next 15 years. We subsequently arranged a joint settlement meeting with the supermarket’s representatives to try and reach an agreement on the appropriate level of compensation. At that meeting, the client did not need to concede any blame for the incident. A figure of £262,500 was agreed on the day, a month before a trial was due to commence.
The client was very pleased with the outcome, which has provided him with financial security for his future.
Employee receives £325,000 following accident on building site
Mr Jones (not our client’s real name) was involved in an accident at work. He was visiting a building site when a bundle of scaffolding poles collapsed and rolled on top of him. Although he had been wearing protective clothing, he suffered multiple fractures to his lower legs, ankles and feet.
Mr Jones initially underwent multiple operations where metalwork was inserted to repair his fractures. He later had further surgery to remove some of this metalwork. His rehabilitation also consisted of physiotherapy, podiatry appointments, swimming, Pilates and gym sessions. In addition to his physical injuries, Mr Jones also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for which he was treated with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).
Mr Jones initially struggled to return to work due to his continuing pain and discomfort. When he did return, he worked a reduced number of hours in order to attend his rehabilitation appointments. He had also been provided with a substantial amount of care and assistance by his partner.
We were instructed by Mr Jones to bring a claim against the owner of the site for his injuries and financial losses. After writing to the site owner notifying them of our client’s claim, two other potential defendants were identified; the controller of the site and the controller of the scaffolding. We subsequently brought additional claims against these further defendants. Following negotiations, liability was admitted by all three defendants in full. They each agreed to contribute a third to Mr Jones’ compensation.
Throughout the claim we obtained interim payments for Mr Jones totalling £25,000, which helped fund his treatment. We appointed a case manager to assist in coordinating his rehabilitation. We also instructed an orthopaedic expert and a psychiatric expert to examine him and provide reports on the extent of his injuries, the likely timescale of his recovery and any treatment recommendations.
We maintained an good relationship with the Defendants’ legal representative and following some further negotiations agreed a final settlement of £325,000 for Mr Jones.
Finger amputee recovers £140,000 following workplace accident
Our client was cutting bricks using a machine with a circular saw when the accident happened. His right hand was pulled suddenly and sharply into the spinning blade. He suffered serious injuries to both his index and middle fingers. He underwent surgery two days later and his right middle finger was amputated.
We identified multiple failings on his employer’s part, including their failure to carry out an adequate risk assessment, to provide adequate training, to fit an accessible emergency stop button, to provide appropriate PPE and to warn our client of the dangers of bricks suddenly being pulled into the machine. After we notified his employers of the claim, they admitted responsibility for the accident.
We obtained evidence about the extent of our client’s injuries from a hand surgeon and a psychiatrist. We also instructed a prosthetics expert to comment on how prosthetics could improve the appearance of his hand. We secured several interim payments to fund our client’s treatment whilst the claim was progressing. We arranged for our client to trial a high-definition silicone prosthetic finger, which was colour matched with his skin tone. He got on well with this and it greatly improved his self-confidence. He was able to return to work, but with amended duties.
Despite having accepted they were responsible for our client’s injuries, his employers refused to enter into negotiations to settle the claim. Soon after, we negotiated a favourable settlement for the sum of £140,000 on behalf of our client.
£215,000 for career-ending accident at work
We represented a male client who suffered career-ending injuries in an accident at work. While teaching RAF trainee pilots in a helicopter simulator, our client experienced an unusual and sudden drop, severely jolting him. After reporting this to his line manager, an incident report was submitted but the cause of the jolt was not established and therefore not fixed. The following day our client entered the same simulator, and experienced another sudden drop which caused more significant injury to his hip, back, neck and shoulder. Despite many months of orthopaedic and pain management treatment, our client was unable to return to his role and was medically retired. The accident had an adverse impact on our client’s mental health.
We pursued our client’s employer who in turn introduced a second defendant who was responsible for maintaining the simulators at the base. Both Defendants denied liability throughout the entire claim. The Defendants argued that our client was the author of his own misfortune by not wearing a seatbelt and moving around during the training exercises. However, we proved that it was well-known common practice, despite their arguments to the contrary, for instructors to move around the simulator while teaching recruits.
Over the course of three years of complex, technical litigation, our client’s case was contested on all possible fronts: liability, medical causation, contributory negligence and the value of damages claimed. Despite this, at a joint settlement meeting between all three parties, a very satisfactory settlement was reached and our client recovered £215,000 to compensate him for his past and future losses.
Our client is now able to enjoy his retirement safe in the knowledge that his future plans have not been scuppered by his accident at work.
Contractor suffers injuries to left foot after accident at work
Our client was a self-employed contractor working for the Defendant company as a lorry driver. He was loading plywood from a forklift truck onto the side of a transit pick up vehicle with the help of a further colleague. Another colleague was driving the forklift truck and reversed the truck, turning the rear wheels to the right so it would turn left as it steered from the back wheels. As the forklift truck pulled away it ran over our client’s left foot and he was knocked to the floor and dragged slightly forward and back.
Our client suffered multiple injuries including fractures to his left foot and fibula. His recovery was complicated by soft tissue problems and he went on to develop Complex Region Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in his left foot and ankle. He also suffered psychological injuries as a result of the impact of his physical injuries. He was unable to return to work following the accident.
The insurance company admitted liability for the accident, so investigations into the cause of the accident were not necessary. This meant we could focus our attention on gathering evidence about the extent of our client’s injuries and losses.
We obtained supportive evidence from experts in the field of orthopaedics, pain medicine and psychiatry about our client’s condition and long term recovery. Whilst the claim progressed, we secured him £20,000 in interim payments. After gathering all of the necessary evidence, we reached a settlement figure of just over £153,000. Although no amount of money can truly compensate our client for what he has suffered he is very pleased with the result.
£650,000 for employee who developed complex regional pain syndrome
Our client was awarded £650,000 in damages after he was badly injured whilst travelling as a passenger in his employer’s buggy. At the time of the accident the vehicle was being driven recklessly by his boss before he lost control and crashed on private grounds.
In the accident, our client sustained crush injuries to his leg and later developed severe complex regional pain syndrome requiring the fitting of a spinal implant and psychiatric injuries.
Such was the extent of our client’s disability, nine separate experts were required to provide reports into his condition and long term needs. Over £200,000 in interim payments were advanced to our client during the course of the case to help support these needs before the case settled.
Despite a long and complex dispute with our client’s employer, a very substantial settlement was eventually agreed outside of Court.
Employee receives £560,000 in compensation following fall from ladder
Our client worked as a caretaker for a church. He was asked by the priest to wallpaper over the skylights in the church ceiling to prevent light shining onto screens where hymns were being projected. Believing this to be dangerous, our client suggested other ways to block out the light. The priest insisted and purchased wallpaper and paste for our client to use.
Our client was provided with a straight ladder, which stood on a laminate floor. No risk assessment was carried out and no one held the foot of the ladder when our client was working at the top of it. The ladder slipped and our client fell 20 feet. He suffered significant and multiple fractures to both his legs.
Several operations were carried out to fit an external cage to his lower left leg, insert plates and screws were into his right foot and fuse his left ankle. He required a significant amount of care from his family and friends and he was unable to return to work.
The Defendant accepted responsibility for the accident. We jointly instructed a case manager to provide our client with support during his recovery. We secured interim payments of over £38,000 to support our client financially and pay for private surgery.
After receiving reports from various medical experts and commencing court proceedings, the Defendant made a settlement offer of £560,000. Our client accepted this offer and was pleased with the result.
Out of court settlement following an accident at work
Our client was working as a banksman on a tunnelling and excavation site. He was guiding a lorry through the gates to the site when he slipped and fell on the ground. He suffered a minor head injury that left him with frequent headaches and cognitive difficulties, as well as orthopaedic injuries.
Expert evidence showed that although our client could return to work in the future, he would not be able to return to work in the construction industry and he would have to take alternative roles at a lesser wage.
His employers denied liability throughout but we were pleased to be able to negotiate an out of court settlement on our client’s behalf.
Employee suffers back injury after falling down stairs at work
Our client fell backwards down a flight of stairs whilst at work, after the banister came away from the wall. He landed heavily on the right side of his back, which caused soft tissue injuries around our client’s spine and an aggravation of a pre-existing hip condition.
Our client then began to suffer from persistent pain in his back and hip, which made physical activity and sitting and standing for any length of time very difficult. His physical symptoms also lead to him suffering from a depressive disorder.
After court proceedings were issued, judgment was obtained against our client’s employer. Our client relied on the medical evidence that we obtained from independent orthopaedic, psychiatric and pain specialists to support his case.
We obtained £17,500 in interim payments for our client to help him cope financially whilst his claim was ongoing. We then successfully negotiated a final compensation settlement of £59,000.
Arm injury at work developing into complex regional pain syndrome settled for £240,000
The Claimant was employed as a labourer. Whilst at work in March 2014, he was injured when a colleague suddenly reversed a work vehicle while his arm was resting on the open passenger door during a conversation. His arm became trapped between the open door of the vehicle and a nearby wall. He suffered a serious crush injury and fracture to his left ulna and was taken to hospital.
During the Claimant’s recovery, he developed intermittent stabbing and burning pains in his arm and neck. This was diagnosed as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (‘CRPS’) and he was referred to a pain clinic. CRPS is a poorly understood condition in which a person can experience persistent severe and debilitating pain. Unfortunately, the pain continued to spread and he was eventually described as having a chronic pain syndrome complicated by depression. The Claimant’s mobility became very restricted and he had substantial care needs.
The Defendant (his employer) admitted liability at a fairly early stage, but suggested that the Claimant was partially to blame for the accident (also known as contributory negligence).
We had to obtain evidence from experts in a number of different fields due to the extent and complexity of the Claimant’s injuries. These fields included Orthopaedics, Pain Medicine, Psychiatry and Rheumatology. A case manager was appointed to coordinate the Claimant’s rehabilitation in order to maximise his recovery. We secured interim payments (monies paid before a claim is settled) to help ease the financial pressure on the Claimant and his young family whilst he was recovering from his accident at work. Fortunately, after some time, the Claimant showed positive signs of improvement. This was in large part due to us putting in place the right treatment and support for him.
Despite the Defendant raising allegations of fundamental dishonesty, a successful settlement was eventually reached without the need for this case to proceed to trial at Court. The Claimant’s claim was settled in October 2018 for £240,000.
The Claimant now has the financial security to persevere with the recommended multi-disciplinary treatment which we hope will get the Claimant back on his feet, back to work and most importantly, making up for lost time with his son.
Interim payments help to ease the pain of a nasty fall
Scott Richards (not our client’s real name) had been injured for almost 3 years before he approached Bolt Burdon Kemp to fight his claim for compensation. He had fallen backwards down a flight of stairs at work because the banister had come away from the wall. He had landed heavily on the right side of his back, which caused soft tissue injuries around his spine and an aggravation of a pre-existing hip condition.
Scott subsequently developed persisting pain in his back and hip, which made physical activity and prolonged sitting and standing very difficult. He also became clinically depressed. We issued court proceedings in advance of the three year time limit to protect Scott’s legal right to bring a claim.
After court proceedings were issued, Scott’s employer admitted responsibility and we obtained expert medical evidence from independent orthopaedic, psychiatric and pain specialists to allow us to put a value on his claim.
We obtained £17,500 in interim payments to help Scott cope financially whilst his claim was ongoing. Just over 18 months after being instructed, we successfully negotiated a final compensation package of £59,000.
Scaffolding accident causes shoulder injury
Our client, a 63 year old painter and decorator, suffered a significant injury to his shoulder whilst working on a building site. He climbed down a ladder, walked along some scaffolding and caught his foot on an aluminium trim that was protruding at the end of one of the scaffold boards. This caused our client to fall forwards and hit his shoulder against a nut and bolt joiner, which held two scaffold poles together.
Our client suffered a serious shoulder fracture and a soft tissue injury to his neck. He also suffered a psychological reaction to the accident. We brought a claim on behalf of our client against several potential defendants including the client’s employer and the scaffolding company. The client’s employer admitted liability for the accident.
We valued our client’s claim by obtaining medical evidence from a shoulder expert, a pain management expert and a psychiatrist. It was reported by the experts that our client had no prospect of returning to work before retirement age, owing to the ongoing pain symptoms in his shoulder. We managed to negotiate an out of court settlement of over £100,000 for our client.
Assault in the work place resulting in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Miss A worked as a residential care worker, looking after young people suffering from behavioural difficulties, many of whom had a history of violence. She was assaulted twice in the course of her employment by the same young person, who had also previously assaulted other staff members. As well as suffering a mild head injury, damage to her eyes and widespread bruising, she also developed significant symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which prevented her from working. Medical evidence found that although she would likely recover from her injury with treatment, she would always be at risk of a relapse in the future.
The Defendant denied liability for the assaults, as they believed that they had done all that they could to protect their employees and that they could not have foreseen the assaults or prevented them. Our claim was that there were clear indications that an assault was going to occur, but that they failed to take any action to protect our client until after she had suffered two serious assaults, which we argued that, by this time, such action was too late.
We were successful in negotiating a settlement of £43,000 for our client, just 6 weeks before the trial was due to take place.
Hydraulic arm of skip lorry causes crush injury to employee’s arm
Our client, a crane operator, suffered a significant injury to his arm whilst helping a lorry driver raise a skip onto the lorry bed. The skip was lifted using the lorry’s hydraulic arm. Meanwhile, our client went to pull a debris cover out of the way. In doing so his arm became trapped between the lorry bed and the hydraulic arm. After his arm was trapped for a few seconds, the hydraulic arm was lifted back up. He was taken in an ambulance to hospital, where it was found that he had sustained crush and puncture wounds. Fortunately, no bones were broken.
Our client was kept in hospital for five days, during which time he underwent compartment surgery on his arm. Since then he has also had a skin graft operation.
We sent letters of claim to the client’s employer and the skip company. Primary liability for the accident was later admitted by the client’s employer. It was agreed between the parties that our client would accept 33% contributory negligence for attempting to grab the debris sheet.
Once medical evidence of our client’s injuries had been obtained, we negotiated a £40,000 out of court settlement for our client.
Scaffolding accident causes serious knee injury
Our client, a window glazer, was involved in an accident whilst he was working on scaffolding. He stepped down from a ladder onto a scaffold board, which gave way from underneath him. He fell from first floor level to the ground. He suffered a severe injury to his knee. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance and underwent surgery. Our client was unable to return to work for four months, following which he returned to light duties.
A claim was brought against the client’s employer and another company who were contracted to build the scaffolding. Liability was initially denied by both Defendants. Following our investigations, liability was conceded by both Defendants, who agreed to each contribute 50% towards our client’s compensation.
We instructed an orthopaedic surgeon, a plastic surgeon and a psychiatrist to report on the extent of our client’s injuries. Throughout the duration of our client’s claim, we obtained interim payments to assist him financially. Following extensive negotiations, we negotiated a settlement of £46,000 for our client.
Accident caused by a detached excavator bucket
Our client 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 client.
Falling concrete block causes brain injury
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 due to brain injury. He suffered some ongoing cognitive deficits, reduced organisational skills, short term memory problems and mild depression.
We obtained £285,000 in compensation for him.
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. 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.
Falling pallet causes brain 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.
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.
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.
Fall from height
We represented a man who fell 15 ft from a flat roof whilst working as a heating and ventilation engineer. He was given a ladder to access the roof which was not long enough and he lost his balance whilst trying to move from the ladder to the roof.
Our client was x-rayed and diagnosed with a fractured spine and was treated accordingly with a back brace, however it was later discovered that he didn’t suffer a fracture and what was seen on the x-ray was a pre existing condition called Schuermann’s disease. He suffered depression and developed chronic pain syndrome.
We obtained £139,000 compensation for our client.
Work accident at sea
We acted for Mr M who was employed as a deck bosun on board a ship in the North Sea. He was injured in an accident while being lowered from his ship into another boat (the daughter craft) when there was a failure (either mechanical or human) and he dropped at speed into the boat below.
Our client suffered a fractured spine. As a result of his injuries he was not able to continue working as a sailor. Fortunately his employers re-trained him once he was able to go back to work and he was given an office job. The claimant argued that had the accident not occurred, he would have been promoted to chief mate within 5 years. This was disputed by the defendant. In addition there was a dispute as to whether he would have been able to continue claiming his income tax back (SED). We instructed a forensic accountant who prepared a report as to the claimant’s loss of income and obtained witness evidence to support the claimants claim.
We obtained £130,000 compensation for Mr M.
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.
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.
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
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.
Care worker suffers 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.
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.
Mr B 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 £80,000 compensation for Mr B.
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
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.
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. We obtained £70,000 in compensation for our client.
Nurse suffers 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.
Finger crushed by concrete post
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Amputation Claims
Employee suffers amputation of finger tips in forklift crash and recovers over £100,000 in compensation
Our client worked in administration for the Defendant, a packaging company. Despite his job being predominantly desk-based, he was frequently asked by his managers to move packaging using a forklift. He did not have a forklift licence and had not had any training in how do drive one. On the day of the incident, after all the licenced forklift drivers had gone home, a lorry arrived to collect a shipment of packaging. One of the managers asked our client to load the packaging onto the lorry using the forklift. The forklift had been parked close to the warehouse entrance. As our client reversed the forklift, it jolted back faster than expected. Our client put his hand on the front pillar of the forklift to steady himself. The forklift then collided with the edge of the entrance crushing the tips of our client’s middle and ring fingers.
Our client was driven to hospital by his manager. The tips of his fingers could not be saved. Our client underwent surgery to amputate his fingertips two days later. He went on to suffer from significant pain and functional issues in his hand. He was unable to return to work for the Defendant, as his role involved a large amount of typing, which he could no longer do. He later found a more suitable alternative role for a different company in customer service.
We notified the Defendant of our client’s claim. They denied liability arguing that our client was told not to operate the forklift. Despite the Defendant denying liability we managed to secure funding for private physiotherapy and psychological treatment for him. We also obtained an interim payment of £5,000 to assist him financially. Meanwhile, we gathered expert evidence from a hand surgeon, a psychiatrist and a pain expert on the extent of his injuries. We also instructed a prosthetic expert to comment on the client’s potential future needs. The expert confirmed that the client’s pain levels and shape of his fingers meant that no functional or cosmetic prostheses would be suitable.
Due to the Defendant’s denial of liability, we issued court proceedings. We also took witness statements from our client himself and one of his previous colleagues in support of his version of events. The independent witness confirmed that the client frequently drove the forklift with the managers’ permission. Soon after a case management hearing in court, the parties made settlement offers back and forth on paper. We made an offer of just over £100,000, which the Defendant accepted. This has given the client financial security for the future.
Farm worker suffers amputation of middle finger and recovers £350,000 in compensation
Our client was working as a Herdsman with cows on a farm when he suffered a life-changing injury. He and a colleague planned to lift an unwell cow using a JCB Telehandler and a hip clamp. Before attempting to pick up the cow, our client proceeded to attach the hip clamp to the arm of the JCB. As he did so, his colleague who was sat in the cab of the JCB, pressed a button. This quickly engaged a pin within the JCB’s arm. Our client’s middle finger was directly in the path of the moving pin and it was amputated in an instant
Our client was driven to hospital. Sadly, the amputated finger could not be saved. He underwent numerous operations on his injured finger to address the shape and size of the stump and to remove infection. He approached us after reading about another case that we had successfully settled on behalf of a gentleman who lost his fingers when dismantling a crane. We accepted the claim on a no-win-no-fee basis. Shortly after notifying the farm owners’ insurers of the claim, they admitted liability in full.
In order to value the claim, we instructed various medical experts to report on the extent of our client’s injuries. The hand surgeon expert confirmed that our client would suffer from permanent reduced grip, cold intolerance, pain and sensitivity. Our client was never able to return to the intricate fertility work with cows that he used to do prior to the incident. He left the Defendant’s employment, which he could no longer do, and instead worked in testing cows for TB. This work was not as well paid, but it was far better suited to his capabilities.
Whilst gathering the expert evidence in this claim, we secured interim payments for our client to assist him financially during his periods off work. Also, we and the farm owners’ insurers jointly instructed a rehabilitation company who enabled the client to trial prosthetics that had functional, cosmetic and protective uses. Our client benefit hugely from the use of those prosthetics and soon after the trial was complete, a settlement meeting was arranged between both parties. Damages of £350,000 were agreed and our client was very pleased with the result.
Employee suffers amputation of three fingers in accident at work
Our client was employed by the Defendant company as a crane operator when he had an accident at work. Our client’s employer asked him and his colleagues to dismantle a crane, which needed to be done on the ground. Due to an oversight on the employer’s part, there was not enough space to carry out the dismantling of the crane on the ground, so it had to be carried out in the air, using another crane for support.
Our client was asked to stand on top of a container to wriggle a section of the lattice free, whilst it was being supported by another crane. Due to an imbalance in the section he was holding, when it came free it popped up and back down again crushing the tips of our client’s middle, ring and little fingers of his dominant right hand. He later had the tips of his three fingers amputated in hospital.
We brought a claim against the employer for their failure to take adequate care of the safety of our client and for exposing him to a foreseeable risk of injury. Whilst the employer admitted some degree of fault, they argued that our client contributed to his injury by placing his hand in a area where there was a risk of danger. We maintained our position, in that the crane should not had been dismantled whilst airborne and that the incident could have been entirely avoided if the employer had carried out an appropriate risk assessment.
We arranged for our client to be examined by a hand surgeon, a psychiatrist and an occupational therapist to assess his injuries, his current and future needs and to assist us in valuing his claim. Whilst our client was able to return to work, he had ongoing issues with movement, grip and sensation in his hand. As a result, we successfully argued that our client was likely to be disadvantaged on the open labour market because of his injuries. He was also very self conscious about his hand’s appearance. We therefore obtained advice from a prosthetic expert, who provided us with the cost of silicon prosthetic fingers for our client. This was factored into the value of his claim.
We subsequently negotiated a final settlement of £210,000 for our client, which he was very happy with.
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 in the sum of £145,000.
Trip & Slip Claims
Slip on 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.
Slip on wet staircase at work
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. We therefore had to apply to restore the Company to the Companies Register before we were able to commence court proceedings against it. We were successful in our claim and obtained compensation from the Company’s insurers in the sum of £31,000.
Industrial Accident Claims
Noise induced tinnitus and hearing loss for Royal Navy Seaman
Our client was an Able Seaman (First Class) in the Royal Navy. He was twice exposed to excessive and harmful levels of noise. He suffered acoustic shock and chronic tinnitus. He was medically discharged and suffered from depression. He lost a long Navy career and potentially lucrative civilian career in hydrography and meteorology.
We valued his loss of earnings, benefits and pension with reference to specialist experts. We were able to deflect arguments about contributory negligence through our understanding of training and specialised equipment necessary for our client’s role and responsibilities. His claim settled for £830,000.
Dermatitis
A university cleaner was exposed to chromic acid used to clean laboratory glassware. She had 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.
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.
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.
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 two years. Compensation was agreed at £13,000.
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.
