At the time of the accident, Ms A, was cleaning the sports hall and had to lift and move heavy wooden PE benches and large mats.  Something snapped in her right shoulder and she felt an instant burning pain, followed by her arms and hands feeling strange.

Accident at work leads to severe suffering

Ms A visited her GP and was treated with painkillers.  She was referred for physiotherapy, scans and blood tests.  She suffered pain and pins and needles in her hands for some time.  She struggled as the injury was to her dominant side and she was unable to carry out domestic tasks as she had done previously, struggled sleeping, became depressed and put on weight.

Lucy makes a claim against school for accident at work

Lucy took on her case and made a claim against the school, claiming that it (amongst other things) had failed to provide:

• a safe and method place of work
• adequate supervision
• adequate risk assessment
• health and safety management and proper training

Lucy arranged for Ms A to see a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, who confirmed, in his opinion, that her injuries and symptoms were caused by the accident and recommended a steroid injection which should allow full recovery from the injuries. Unfortunately, the injuries did not resolve as specified by the orthopaedic surgeon and upon re-examination, Ms A was advised to undergo surgery.  Unfortunately, following the surgery, the injuries deteriorated, and Ms A was subsequently diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and a depressive disorder.

Lucy negotiates substantial settlement 

Ms A had two jobs at the time of the accident and initially she took ten months off work from both.   Upon her return to work, Ms A only managed two to three weeks in one of the jobs and had to leave due to the job involving heavy lifting, which she was unable to do.  She continued to work in her second job, as a kitchen assistant, for a while, but following a change in practice, meaning she would then be required to handle heavy, hot metal trays and pots, she ultimately had to leave this job too.

The school admitted liability and Lucy was able to use her knowledge and experience to  negotiate a settlement of £50,000.

If you have had an accident at work and want to know if you can claim compensation, please contact our experts now.  You can also find out more about making a claim relating to an accident at work on our web pages.