Our client was a HGV driver who needed to clean the top of his lorry and began climbing the ladder secured to the rear of the vehicle, when he suddenly fell to the ground.  He sustained a loss of consciousness, internal bleeding to the head, a hairline fracture to his vertebrae and ongoing back pain, accompanied by pins and needles in his buttock.  As a result of the accident, he was hospitalised for 3 days and unable to return to work for two weeks.  We were able to recover Personal Injury compensation for him of £9,500.

A brief summary of events is set out below.

Date of Accident:  August 2014

Time between formal instruction and successful conclusion: We were not instructed by our client until December 2015 and managed to settle his claim in September 2016.

How the claim proceeded: Although our client did not contact us for well over a year following his accident, he was still suffering with mild symptoms.  We therefore sent for copies of his GP and hospital records and made arrangements for him to see a medical expert, who could examine him and provide us with a written report detailing his findings.  Whilst awaiting the medical report, we contacted our client’s employer with formal details of his compensation claim.   Towards the end of January 2016, we were contacted by their insurers admitting liability for the accident.  However, they requested medical evidence to substantiate our client’s injuries, before they were willing to put forward any financial settlement offers.  By May 2016 we were in receipt of the medical report and able to fully value our client’s claim.  We then submitted the medical evidence and our proposed settlement to the insurers.  With strict guidelines on the time allowed by each party to respond to such settlement proposals, the insurers failed to do so within the required time limit.  As a consequence, it was necessary for us to issue court proceedings.

Were Court proceedings necessary?: Yes.  Shortly after the court proceedings were served, we were contacted by the insurer’s solicitors requesting more time to submit their defence to the court, in order to try and negotiate a settlement with the insurers.

Was a trial necessary?: No.  We allowed the insurer’s solicitors an extension of time and finally they were able to respond to us with a sensible settlement offer which our client was happy to accept.

Outcome:   The client secured £7,850 for his injuries and £1,650 for his financial losses, including his loss of earnings for the two week period following the accident, when he was unable to work.

Comment:  If our client’s employer had provided an appropriate safety harness for him to wear when regularly having to climb onto the top of his vehicle, he would have been secured to the lorry and would not have fallen to the ground from such a height, Sustaining Multiple Injuries.  Whilst he did make a recovery from his injuries, his symptoms were present for some time following the accident, resulting in his employer’s insurer being responsible for paying him substantial compensation.

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 Freephone 0800 138 1348 or by landline 01684 580900 to speak direct to one of our specialist claims solicitors or go to our Start Your Claim  page to submit details of your accident compensation claim online.

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