Our client was a lorry driver who had just arrived at a site to deliver a caravan for his employer.  He unhooked the caravan from the tow hook on his lorry and had to manually push it into position, when he suddenly felt severe pain in the lower part of his left leg.  He sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon, which left him unable to work for a year and caused ongoing symptoms for more than 2 years after the Accident, requiring physiotherapy treatment to aid his recovery.  We were able to recover personal injury compensation for him of £42,000.

A brief summary of events is set out below.

Date of Accident:  February 2015

Time between formal instruction and successful conclusion:  We took on the case in February 2016 and managed to settle it in March 2017.

How the claim proceeded: Our client did not contact us for nearly a year following his accident as he already had other solicitors representing him.  However, despite his employer’s insurers admitting liability for the accident, his solicitors advised they would be unable to proceed with his claim, due to a lack of medical evidence to support his accident related injuries.  We reviewed his case and felt it had good prospects of success, so once he had completed our contractual documents we took over conduct of the claim and contacted the insurers to advise them.

We initially sent for up to date copies of his medical records and arranged for our client to see an independent Orthopaedic Consultant, who could provide us with a report of his pre-accident health, injuries sustained as a result of his accident and his prognosis for recovery.

In September 2016 we received a comprehensive medical report from the Orthopaedic Consultant, who commented that our client had sustained significant damage to his left Achilles tendon, which was initially misdiagnosed as a torn muscle and treated with physiotherapy to no effect.  An ultrasound finally diagnosed the injury and as a result he required reconstructive surgery.  Following surgery in July 2015, his left leg was placed in a walking boot for 6 months and he then needed multiple physiotherapy sessions.  Nearly 18 months after the accident, he was still suffering swelling and weakness to the ankle, with restricted walking.  The medical expert’s final opinion was that the swelling and strength to his ankle should improve, with him achieving a full recovery within approximately 2 years of the accident, but the accident was ultimately responsible for his injuries and subsequent symptoms.

Having calculated our clients total lost earnings for the 1 year period following his accident when he was unable to work, we were then able to fully value his claim for compensation.  In January 2017, with his approval, we put forward a settlement proposal to the insurers.  They subsequently handed the case over to solicitors to oversee, but several weeks later we were still awaiting a response from them.  We contacted the solicitors multiple times to no avail, finally setting a deadline for a response to our settlement proposal, failing which we would issue court proceedings against the employer without further delay.

Towards the end of February 2017, having still not received a response from the solicitors, we were ready to send documentation to the court for proceedings to be issued against the employer, when they finally contacted us with a counter offer to settle the claim.  It was a further 3 weeks before we finally reached an agreement with them and settled the claim to our client’s satisfaction.

Were Court proceedings necessary?:  No.

Outcome:   The client secured £16,500 for his injuries and £25,500 for his financial losses, including his loss of earnings for the extended period he was unable to work following the accident.

Comment:  If the employer had been following better health and safety practices in relation to manual handling and ensured that our client had suitable equipment or another member of staff to assist with the moving of heavy caravans in a safe manner, without the risk of injury, this accident would never have happened and our client would not have suffered prolonged symptoms and an extended recovery.

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.

If you would like to know what your injury claim may be worth, please go to our Value Your Injury page.

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