Our client was a HGV driver who was making a delivery to a customer’s site for his employer.  It was necessary for him to climb onto his trailer in order to begin unloading and whilst steps were available at the rear of the trailer, there was no grab handle to hold onto.  As he climbed up, he held onto one of the rear doors, but unbeknown to him it was rotten at the edge and came away from the main body of the door, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards to the ground.  He instinctively put his hands out to break his fall and as he hit the ground he heard a loud crack in his left wrist.  He sustained a broken wrist, which left him with painful symptoms for 8 weeks and required extensive physiotherapy to aid his recovery.  We were able to recover personal injury compensation for him of £53,400.

A brief summary of events is set out below.

Date of Accident:  October 2013

Time between formal instruction and successful conclusion:  We took on the case in November 2014 and managed to settle it two years later.

How the claim proceeded:  We were already representing this client for a claim for compensation, due to an accident at work in which he had previously fractured his left wrist.  Having agreed to represent him once more, we sent a formal letter of claim to his employer and just two weeks later received an admission of liability for the accident from their insurers.

Our client had spent 8 months off of work recuperating from the first injury to his wrist and had been left with pain and reduced movement.  He had been seen by an Orthopaedic Surgeon, who had reported that further improvement to his wrist was unlikely.

Following this accident which had involved injury to the very same wrist, albeit the break was in a different position, it was then necessary to obtain up to date copies of our client’s GP and hospital records and arrange for him to be re-examined by an Orthopaedic Consultant, specialising in hand and arm surgery.

In May 2015 our client had been examined and we were in receipt of the medical expert’s written report.  He commented that the previous injury to his wrist had caused shortening of one of the bones in his forearm, which left him with pain, restricted movement and irregularity of the joint surface.  He also reported that our client had been unable to return to work for some time, as although he could drive, he was not able to cope with lifting, strapping of loads and pulling curtain sides on trailers due to the weakness present in his wrist.  He had therefore made the decision to retrain as a driving instructor, which he was funding himself.  His more recent accident had left him with soreness and pain up to the thumb side of his wrist, poor grip and further restricted movement.  The medical expert felt that his wrist would not improve further and it was likely he would develop osteoarthritis within the next 10 years, which may possibly require surgery.

The medical evidence enabled us to place a value on our client’s claim for his injuries.  It was also necessary for us to calculate his financial losses, incorporating his loss of earnings following his second accident and his future losses due to his inability to continue in the same line of work and having to fund re-training as a driving instructor.  This took some time to calculate as our client had been unable to work for long periods between his first and second accident, had been unable to carry out the same type of work due to his injuries and had filled gaps in his employment with some less strenuous part time driving work.

It was June 2016 before we were finally able to put forward a settlement proposal to the employer’s insurers, but by August 2016 we had been unable to reach an agreement with them, so took steps to issue court proceedings against the employer.

Were Court proceedings necessary?:  Yes. In order to protect our client’s position as it was not possible to settle the claim within 3 years of the date of the accident.

Was a trial necessary?:  No.  We began to prepare for an eventual trial date, but in November 2016 we were finally able to settle the claim to our client’s satisfaction.

Outcome: The client secured £15,000 for his injuries and £38,400 for his financial losses, including his loss of earnings following the accident and future losses due to his inability to continue in the same type of work.

Comment:  Whilst this was a fairly straightforward case with the employer’s insurers accepting liability for the accident almost immediately, it took some time to bring it to a conclusion due to negotiations dragging on in relation to our client’s loss of earnings following the accident and his predicted future losses, as a result of him being unable to continue in the same line of work due to his injuries.

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM SOLICITORS:-

If you have suffered any form of accident or contracted an industrial disease contact personal injury claims specialists Hinchliffes Solicitors for immediate legal advice, to find out if you are entitled to make a claim for personal injury compensation.  All cases are conducted on a No Win No Fee and No Risk basis.

Call now on 01684 580900 to speak direct to one of our specialist claims lawyers or go to our Start Your Claim  page to submit details of your accident compensation claim online.

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