Case study: over £8,000 for employee who fractured wrist in warehouse fall

Our workplace accident solicitors recently helped a warehouse employee who slipped on a wet floor, causing a fracture to his wrist.

Fall on wet floor

Our client, Mr M, was an agency worker who was contracted to work in the warehouse of a well-known supermarket. He was picking up items from the warehouse shelves and as he was doing so, he slipped on the wet floor. There were no warning signs.

As a result of the accident, Mr M sustained a fracture in his right, dominant wrist, with pain in his thumb.

Claiming compensation for workplace injury

The claim was submitted to the owners of the warehouse who had control and responsibility of the work premises within which Mr M worked. They accepted liability for the accident.

Our Personal Injury team obtained copies of Mr M’s medical records and instructed a Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine to prepare a report which stated:

• The injury to Mr M’s right, dominant, hand and thumb was diagnosed as an undisplaced hairline fracture of the waist of the scaphoid bone (the wrist bone below the base of the thumb).
• Our client had an excellent range of finger, hand and wrist movement but there was a profound weakness of maximal grip strength in the right hand. The expert recommended that Mr M should wear some hand-strengthening devices for further improvement.

Loss of earnings

Our workplace accident solicitors obtained details of Mr M’s financial losses as part of the claim. He required four months off work to recover from his injury and sustained a loss of earnings as a result. He also required care and assistance from his wife in undertaking most of the household chores, as well as help with washing and dressing, and looking after the children. Mr M also incurred general travel expenses and medication costs.

Settlement offer

Our personal injury lawyers finalised the medical evidence and schedule of financial loss and began negotiating an offer of settlement. The Defendant did not respond to our offer within 15 working days as required by the appropriate Personal Injury Protocol, but after further correspondence, the claim settled for just under £8,500.

Contact our workplace injury solicitors today

If you’ve slipped on a wet floor or been injured in a workplace accident, contact our specialist personal injury solicitors on 0117 325 2929 or fill out an online enquiry form.