Our client was a HGV driver who was collecting a pre-loaded trailer from his employer to deliver to a garden centre.  It was early in the morning when he arrived at his depot and having completed his vehicle checks, he attempted to check his load.  However, as it was dark it was difficult to see clearly, so he was only able to carry out a cursory check of the load before setting off.  When he arrived at his destination and opened up the trailer, he saw that the load had moved in transit as it had not been secured properly.  One of the securing straps had become trapped within the load during the journey and as he attempted to pull it free he lost his balance and fell backwards from the trailer.  He sustained injuries to his back and chest, with suspected broken ribs, which caused pain and difficulty in breathing and left him unable to work for 8 weeks.  We were able to recover Personal Injury compensation for him of £5,300.

A brief summary of events is set out below.

Date of Accident:  January 2016

Time between formal instruction and successful conclusion:  We took on the case in February 2016 and settled it in January 2017.

How the claim proceeded:  Having agreed to take on our client’s case, we sent a letter of claim to his employer and waited for a response from their insurers.  We then sent for copies of his medical records and made arrangements for him to see an A & E Consultant.

When the insurers initially contacted us, it was to claim that our client had never reported his accident to his employer.  However our client confirmed he had a conversation with his boss in his employer’s depot the morning after his accident when he asked for the incident to be entered into the company’s accident book, evidence of which should have been captured on CCTV cameras at the premises.  He had also retained text messages he had sent to his boss asking for a copy of the incident report.  We therefore responded to the insurers, requesting a copy of the CCTV footage and the incident report.

By the end of May 2016, the insurers had still not given us a decision on whether liability for the accident was admitted or denied, so we contacted them again stating that the deadline for doing so had expired and pressing them for a decision.  They had also not been forthcoming with either the CCTV footage or a copy of the incident report.

It was August 2016 before our client had been examined by the A & E Consultant and we were in receipt of his written report.  Whilst he expected our client to make a good recovery, he felt unable to say exactly when this was likely to be, but felt that his condition should improve with chest physiotherapy treatment.

Once we had received the medical report and compiled a schedule of our client’s financial losses, we were in a position to value his claim for compensation.  With our client’s approval, we then sent a settlement proposal to the insurers.  The insurers had failed to respond to us multiple times at this point and once again did not respond to our proposal to settle the claim.  In order to progress our client’s case and to avoid any further delays, we began preparations to issue court proceedings against his employer, but as we were doing so we were finally contacted by the insurers with a counter offer to settle the claim.  As this was very close to our original proposal, we advised our client to accept, which he was happy to do.

Were Court proceedings necessary?:  No.

Outcome:   The client secured £2,500 for his injuries and £2,800 for his financial losses, including his loss of earnings for the period following his accident, when he was unable to work.

Comment:  The employer clearly failed in its duty to ensure that whoever loaded the trailer for our client did so in a safe and secure manner.  Had they been following better health & safety practices, this accident would never have happened and our client would not have sustained 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.

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 FAQs.

The post HGV Driver Secures Compensation AFTER FALLING FROM TRAILER AND SUFFERING INJURIES appeared first on Hinchliffes Solicitors.