Case study: £10,000 settlement for crush injury at work
Our client, Mr C, had a job which involved removing a covering ‘sticker’ from a heavy circular piece of metal before moving it by hoist into a machine. One day, he removed the ‘sticker’ as normal, only for the heavy piece of metal to topple towards him. As he tried to stop it from falling, his fingers were crushed under the metal as it hit the floor.
Mr C suffered a crush injury to his right dominant index and middle fingertips. He also suffered an unstable intra-articular fracture to the distal phalange (the bones at the tip of finger) on the right index finger. He had a tuft fracture to the distal phalange of the middle finger and lacerations to both fingers.
As a result of his accident at work, Mr C was was left with scarring, cold intolerance, reduction of movement and grip strength. The tip of the bone in the index finger did not unite and surgery was recommended.
How we helped to claim compensation for this accident at work
Our Personal Injury team obtained Mr C’s medical records and arranged for him to be examined by a specialist hand surgeon. As a result of the accident and the subsequent injuries, Mr C incurred financial losses and expenses. These were part of the claim and included loss of earnings, care provided by family, and medical and travel expenses.
Mr C also claimed compensation in order to fund future physiotherapy and to have recommended surgery on a private basis.
We alleged that Mr C’s employer failed to ensure there was a safe method of doing the job. They failed to provide PPE and training, neglected to undertake a full risk assessment and failed to reduce the risk of the job. The Defendant (his employer) denied liability. However, our Personal Injury solicitors assessed the evidence and continued with the claim as we felt Mr C had good prospects of succeeding.
Court proceedings commenced and we provided the Defendant with the evidence and made an offer to settle. The offer reflected the fact that liability was denied and that, whilst we felt the prospects of winning were good, there was a risk he could lose the claim. The Defendant made a counter offer and the claim settled for £10,000.
After Mr C’s accident at work, the employer provided additional training. They also provided racking to store the metal and stop it falling, and updated method statements and risk assessments.
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