Our client was a supermarket night worker, who was moving a cage of stock in her employer’s warehouse.  The cage had been filled by another staff member and unbeknown to our client it had been overloaded.  As she moved it, a box of beer stacked at the top struck the ceiling and fell from the cage, striking her on her head and right shoulder.  She sustained soft tissue injuries to her shoulder, swelling to her head and headaches.  She required physiotherapy to aid her recovery, which took nearly 9 months and we were able to recover Personal Injury compensation for her of £7,200.

A brief summary of events is set out below.

Date of Accident:  December 2015

Time between formal instruction and successful conclusion:  We took on the case in February 2016 and settled it in October 2016.

How the claim proceeded: When we contacted our client’s employer with details of her claim, we received a response directly from their solicitors denying responsibility for the accident.  The employer claimed it was our client who stacked the cage too high, so the accident was her own fault.  However our client had already told us that upon entering the warehouse she saw that the cages had already been loaded by other night staff.  We therefore challenged the allegation made by the employer, requesting sight of appropriate risk assessments, training records and procedures for the tasks performed by all staff in the warehouse.  We also raised the point that in statements disclosed to us by their solicitor, there was no mention of our client having been responsible for loading the cage.

Our client had been unable to work for some time following the accident and had begun physiotherapy treatment to aid her recovery.  Her role was a physical one and in March 2016 her GP advised her that she was fit to do admin tasks, but not manual work, due to her shoulder injury.  We therefore arranged for her to see a medical expert, who could assess her injuries and provide us with a prognosis for her full recovery.

In May 2016 our client was told by her employer that her post was being made redundant.  She was offered redundancy pay or a role at another location on much lower pay.  Around this time we received a written report from the medical expert, which included his opinion that it would take her a full 12 months from the date of the accident to fully recover from her injuries.  As our client was still unable to return to her present job, due to her slow recovery, she felt she had little choice but to accept a lower paid position with her employer.

By August 2016, we were in a position to fully value our client’s claim and began to compile a schedule of her financial losses to date, in order to put forward a settlement proposal to the employer’s solicitors.  Whilst doing so, we were contacted by the solicitors with a settlement offer from the employer.  Although they were still unwilling to accept liability for the accident, they were willing to negotiate a settlement and by early October 2016 we were able to reach an agreement.

Were Court proceedings necessary?: No

Outcome:   The client secured £3,300 for her injuries and £3,900 for her financial losses, including her loss of earnings for the period following the accident, when she was unable to work.

Comment: If the employer had followed better health and safety practices in the workplace, by ensuring that procedures were followed and employees were not overloading cages in the warehouse area, this accident would not have happened and our client would not have suffered injury.

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.

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