Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Damages Awarded to Employee Injured by Unsafe Working Practice
12th June 2007
In an accident at work case successfully fought by our specialist personal injury solicitors, a claimant was injured due to unsafe working practices whilst working in close proximity to a large piece of machinery.
Working With Machinery
At the time of his workplace accident, the claimant was working with a sleeper grab, which was very large and is designed to move up to 56 sleepers at a time.
The generally accepted procedure was for the workers to manually guide the grab for the last few inches or so, keeping their hands on the gate and standing nearby. As the claimant was doing this he sustained a personal injury.
Compensation Claim
The claimant felt that his employer was to blame for the incident and decided to pursue a claim for compensation, instructing The Legal Line’s lawyers to assist him.
His employers admitted primary responsibility, however added that they believed there to be some contributory negligence on the claimant’s part. They stated that there was no need for him to have manually guided the grab, that this did not have any influencing effect and he should have been standing clear.
They therefore offered 85 per cent of the value of the claim, however this was rejected.
Damages Awarded
Evidence was provided that there was no training or warning given to employees, advising against the practice of standing in close proximity to the grab and guiding it by hand. It was also accepted that guiding it did provide assistance.
Because of this evidence, the Judge found in favour of the claimant, without any deductions for contributory negligence. It was held that the claimant was not negligent, as he was working using the method accepted by his employer and had a lot to concentrate on.
Workplace Injury Claims
If you or a member of your family has suffered a personal injury as the result of an accident at work, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Contact The Legal Line for cost free, sympathetic advice and assistance on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online.
Our lawyers are specialists in all types of accident claim and can provide you with expert advice on how to pursue your case to the best possible outcome.
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