Jane Cooper

The client had worked for a local council for just under five years.  He was working as a highways electrical operative, a job he had done for about 11 months.

At the time of the accident, the client was removing a concrete light column, about five metres tall.  This would normally have been done with a hiab crane, but the hiab would not fit down the alley in the residential area where he was working, so it had to be done manually.

There was a risk assessment that would be carried out when using the hiab, but nothing for manual removal.  The client carried out his own risk assessment, which included checking for hazards such as fire stations, ditches, trees and hot materials.

The client’s supervisor knew the column could not be removed using the hiab and so allowed a mobile lift to be taken to cut it up into sections. There was no equipment to help lift the sections onto the lorry, so he had to lift them manually onto a flatbed lorry that was along the alleyway where he was working.

When lifting one of the concrete sections onto the lorry, it collapsed onto his hand causing immediate pain.  The client’s assistant could not drive the lorry, so his supervisor was called who came and took him to A & E, where he was diagnosed with fractures to his ring finger and little finger of his right hand, as well as ligament damage to the middle finger.

The client suffered altered grip and sensation and undertook physiotherapy for several months. His recovery was protracted, and he ended up being off work for nine weeks during which time he was unable to carry out many of the tasks he would normally perform, such as gardening, and his hobby of quad biking. When he returned to work, he was put on light duties for six months.

The client contacted Graysons to see if he could claim compensation for the accident, and Jane contacted his employer.

The employer admitted liability and Jane was able to negotiate a five-figure settlement for her client, who said:

“Jane Cooper has been fantastic. She kept me up to date with all the processes she had gone through to make my claim successful. Great job and thank you.”

If you have had an accident at work and want to know if you can claim compensation, contact our personal injury experts now.  We will carry out a free interview in which we can assess your case, and if we can take it on, we will offer you a no win – no fee agreement.

You can also find out more about making a claim for a work related injury on our web pages.

Author: Jane Cooper, partner and head of Graysons’ personal injury team.