Last updated on January 16th, 2018 at 04:22 pm

Mr F worked as a fork lift truck driver at the time of the fall from height.  He had worked for the company for 3 years.

No training or equipment to work at height

On the day of the accident, he was told by his supervisor to assist and take instruction from an outside contractor in order to dismantle a building.  This meant taking down a monorail first so that they could remove the roof.  As the cherry picker they had could not reach the roof, Mr F was told to use a ladder (which wasn’t actually long enough) to access the roof and gain access to the monorail bolts.  Mr F climbed up one side of the building and the contractor, the other.

Mr F was not authorised to work at heights and was not provided with any personal protective equipment.  No platforms or harnesses were used.  He had not been given any instruction on how to work at heights.

There was no indication that the roof was not safe or was fragile at the time, but warnings were erected after the accident.

Fall from height as roof gives way

As Mr F started to remove the roof bolts he heard a crack and the next thing he knew he had fallen around 12 feet onto the concrete floor below, and the contractor fell on top of him.  The contractor was able to stand and walk away, but Mr F could not.  To the dismay of the paramedic first responder, who arrived around 10 minutes later, Mr F was helped up by the contractor and some other workers and sat on a chair, when he should have been left in position and kept warm.   An ambulance arrived and strapped Mr F to a spinal board before taking him to hospital.

Shattered leg bone after fall from height

Xrays and subsequent scans showed that Mr F had suffered a comminuted fracture of the left leg (bone shattered in several places) and he had to wear a knee brace for some time.  He was in severe pain to start with, with very limited mobility.  He has also been advised that he has early signs of arthritis in his knee following the accident and he will have to have a knee replacement.  For the first 2 years after the accident, Mr F took very strong painkillers to control the pain.  He was able to reduce them for a while but more recently has to take them daily.

Mr F returned to work on light duties around 5 months after the accident and has since returned to normal work, albeit not at the same company, from where he was made redundant.  His knee injury has not fully recovered. He is unable to carry out the sort of work and leisure he used to enjoy, such as DIY, gardening and swimming, and he cannot stand or walk for long periods of time.

Employer admits liability for accident

Seeking advice on whether he could claim compensation for his accident, Mr F contacted Graysons.

All employers must maintain a safe system of working and a safe place to work.  They must also risk assess all work at height and remove the need to work at height if possible, or take steps to reduce the risk of injury from working at height.  Mr F’s employer had not met its obligations and had breached the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992. Graysons pursued the defendant employer for compensation and, whilst the firm admitted primary liability, it alleged that Mr F was to blame to the extent of 25%.  At a joint settlement meeting, Graysons was able to reduce this to 10% contributory negligence and settled on the figure of £162,500.

If you have had an accident at work and want to know if you can claim compensation, contact our experts now.  You can also read more about accidents at work on our web pages.