Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Industrial Injury Compensation for Man Seriously Injured in Factory Accident
14th July 2011
Our expert personal injury lawyers recently secured compensation for a man who suffered serious injuries, including severe facial injuries, in an accident at work.
Unsafe Working Practice
At the time of his workplace accident our client was working on a large, industrial reel suspended from an overhead crane. He was carrying the remote control unit for the crane, but was not operating it. As he walked between the reel and the frame of a piece of machinery the crane moved suddenly, without any warning. This caused the reel to crush his head between itself and a metal rail.
Our client suffered serious injuries as a result of this horrific accident, including multiple facial fractures and lacerations, damage to his teeth, concussion, a neck injury, fractured rib and damage to his arm and knee. He was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment and underwent operations to treat his injuries.
He had to take several months off work to recover and during this period suffered symptoms including headaches, memory impairment, anxiety and trouble sleeping. Unfortunately our client will never recover fully and he has been left with some permanent problems, including ongoing pain and numbness, scarring, difficulties with eating and speech and some loss of his sense of taste and smell.
Serious Injury Compensation Claim
As specialists in personal injury, with a dedicated serious injury team, our lawyers were appointed to assist the injured man with a personal injury claim. He felt that he was not provided with a safe system of work.
We were able to show that no risk assessment had been carried out for the task our client was completing and there was no recognised procedure for it in place. There were several different methods in use by employees and this was left up to the discretion of the individual. The controls for the crane did not have a feature to ensure that the crane was powered off when not being operated and the practice of walking between the reel and the frame could have been prohibited by his employer as a further safety measure. Some similar machinery on the premises is fully enclosed and has to be accessed by gates which will only operate when it is safe to enter.
After our client’s accident occurred a safer standard operating procedure was adopted, with clear instructions for employees.
The defendants admitted liability and made an initial offer of compensation, which we rejected as it did not reflect the extent of our client’s injuries. We entered into negotiations with them and subsequently secured an increased sum of £55,000 in damages for our client.
Accident at Work Advice
If you suffer an injury at work due to the negligence of your employer or a colleague, you may be entitled to compensation.
Our lawyers can provide you with expert accident claim advice and guidance on whether you can make an injury claim on a cost-free, confidential basis. Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online.
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