Our client was an Assistant Manager for a small business who was taking delivery of shed Panels.  The panels arrived stacked upright on a flatbed lorry, held in place by securing straps.  The delivery driver was asked to park on level ground to unload, but instead parked on a slope, and began to undo the straps securing the panels.  Our client told the driver to stop, as he could see that all of the panels on the lorry would fall over if released, but the driver ignored him and freed the last strap.  The panels fell onto the flatbed of the lorry, with some ending up on the ground, narrowly missing our client and his colleague.  The panels being delivered to our client were now buried at the bottom of the pile on the lorry, so the only option was for him, his colleague and the driver to stand on the flatbed of the lorry and try to lift the other panels up against the headboard, so that the driver could re-strap them.  As they were doing so, our client lost his footing and fell backwards, landing on one of the shed panels on the ground, twisting his ankle severely.  He sustained severe ligament damage to his left foot and ankle, suffered symptoms from his injuries for more than 2 years following the accident and required ongoing physiotherapy treatment to aid his recovery.  We were able to recover personal injury compensation for him of £25,000.

A summary of events is set out below.

Date of Accident:  April 2012

Time between formal instruction and successful conclusion:  We took on the case in May 2012 and settled it in April 2016.  Due to the nature of our client’s injuries and his long term symptoms, this claim took some time to settle.

How the claim proceeded: Having sent a letter of claim to the company supplying and delivering the shed panels, we then sent for copies of our client’s medical records and made arrangements for him to be examined by an A & E Surgeon.  We received a written report from the A & E Surgeon in September 2012 and his initial opinion was that our client should continue with physiotherapy treatment already started on the NHS, but if his condition had not improved once this was completed, suggested he be re-examined and then may need to have an MRI scan.

It was March 2013 before the company’s insurers contacted us denying liability for the accident.  The denial was based on their insured claiming our client had deliberately stepped off of the lorry and did not fall.  However, with our client’s colleague providing a witness statement corroborating his version of events, we disputed this with the insurers.

By December 2013 we had heard nothing further from the insurers and our client had completed his initial course of physiotherapy treatment.  We therefore requested copies of his updated medical records and arranged for him to be re-examined by the A & E Surgeon.

In February 2014 we received the second medical report from the A & E Surgeon, whose opinion was that our client had not received sufficient physiotherapy treatment on the NHS to improve his condition and as a result had also developed right knee pain due to walking with a limp.  He was still suffering with pain in his ligament damaged ankle, although the severity had eased, so the medical expert recommended he undergo an MRI scan and further treatment by an Orthopaedic Surgeon.  Understandably, he felt unable to give a clearer opinion of our client’s prognosis for recovery at that time.  It was a further 4 months before our client had had his MRI scan and seen the Orthopaedic Surgeon, who recommended a course of steroid injections to his ankle and then a re-examination 4 months after the course was complete.

By January 2015 we were fast approaching the 3 year deadline by which court proceedings needed to be issued if the claim had not settled, so served these on the company without further delay.  However by March of that year our client was still waiting for his follow up appointment with the Orthopaedic Surgeon, so we asked the court to suspend proceedings until we had a clearer picture of his medical condition.  It was July 2015 before our client was seen by the Orthopaedic Surgeon again and he required further pain relieving injections to his ankle.  The Orthopaedic Surgeon’s view at this time was that his ongoing symptoms were likely to be permanent.

We began preparations for an eventual trial and were notified by the court that this would go ahead in December 2015.  Just a few weeks prior to the trial date, we were contacted by the insurers with an admission of liability for the accident, so could then notify the court that the issue of liability had been settled.

In February 2016 we received a very low offer from the insurers to settle the claim, which was refused.  We put forward a counter offer and 4 weeks later were able to finally negotiate a sensible settlement figure which our client was happy to accept.

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

Was a trial necessary?: No. Just a few weeks before the trial, the insurers admitted liability for the accident and we could finally begin negotiations to settle the claim.

Outcome:   The client secured £24,800 for his injuries and £200 for his financial losses, including his travelling expenses for various medical and rehabilitation appointments.

Comment: The company supplying and delivering the shed panels were clearly at fault for having poor practices and procedures in place for the loading and securing of panels on their lorries.  If smaller numbers of panels were strapped together and drivers were trained more comprehensively to ensure more care was taken when parking up and unstrapping loads, this particular accident would never have happened and our client would not have suffered long term injury.

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