Published in CV Driver November 2016.

Continuing his series of articles, solicitor Steven Hinchliffe (owner of the truckers’ “go to” Personal Injury specialists HINCHLIFFES SOLICITORS) highlights another type of Accident suffered by professional drivers and their colleagues, where his firm has successfully secured compensation for the injured victim.  See the “Latest News” blog link on the homepage of the firm’s website at www.hinchliffes.co.uk for all of his previous articles.

You do not need to be a professional driver to seek our help – anyone hurt in an accident (eg your family or friends) can contact us for advice.

CASE HISTORY

How the Accident Happened

In April 2004 a lorry driver making a delivery was in his trailer, undoing the straps securing his load of double stacked pallets.  A large tanker drove past his vehicle, creating a vibration that caused part of the unsecured load to fall on him.

The Injuries

The driver sustained injuries to both feet, his left elbow, left hip and both wrists.

How the Claim Progressed

The driver did not contact us for nearly 2 years following his accident as he had instructed other solicitors to act for him, but when faced with a denial of liability they felt unable to represent him further.  After taking full details of the accident and reviewing his previous solicitors’ file, we agreed to take his case on.

In September 2006 we sent a formal letter of claim to the driver’s employer and unsurprisingly received a denial of liability from their insurers’ solicitors.  This was on the basis that the driver should not have been standing on the trailer at the time of the accident.  However, he had been instructed by his employer to double stack the pallets, which made unloading difficult, and he was responsible for securing and releasing the straps in the trailer.  This meant that he had to be on the trailer before the unloading process could begin.

By January 2007, we had received the driver’s medical records and a report compiled by a medical expert we had arranged for him to see in late 2006.  The report detailed his injuries and his initial and ongoing symptoms.  The medical expert’s final opinion was that his ongoing symptoms could be considered accident related for up to 3 years from the date he sustained injury.

We sent the medical evidence and details of the driver’s accident related financial losses to the insurers’ solicitors, with proposals for settling the claim.  They refused his terms and would not enter into any settlement negotiations.

In early March 2007 we received advice from a Barrister that the case had reasonable prospects of success at a trial, so issued Court proceedings against the driver’s employer.  Just 3 weeks later their solicitors put forward a settlement offer, and after brief negotiations we were able to agree a sum the driver was happy to accept.

The Compensation Recovered

The driver accepted total compensation of £2,750.

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.

Confused by the claims process?  Please look at our extensive Information Library.

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