Our client was a Housekeeper in a hotel who was required to move a delivery of supplies, which had been left in the restaurant area, to a storage cupboard.  Some of the supplies contained chemicals and were heavy, but had to be moved away from the restaurant as quickly as possible.  As our client was lowering a box of cleaning fluids to the storeroom floor, she felt pain in her lower back, which did not subside.  She sustained Injury to her lower back and left leg and suffered acute symptoms from her injuries for almost 9 months following the accident.  She subsequently required surgery to her back and we were able to recover Personal Injury compensation for her of £27,500.

A brief summary of events is set out below.

Date of Accident:  February 2013

Time between formal instruction and successful conclusion:  We took on the case in March 2013 and managed to settle it in September 2015.  This case took some time to settle due to the nature of our client’s injuries and her delayed recovery.

How the claim proceeded: When we contacted the opponent’s initially they denied liability for the accident, but were unable to provide any documentation detailing their safe practice of working for staff, when transporting deliveries to the storage cupboard.  As our client was suffering continuing symptoms from her injuries and had been unable to work for some time, we arranged for her to see a Medical Expert, who could fully assess her medically and provide us with a comprehensive medical report.  The report agreed with the findings of our client’s NHS consultant, who recommended she undergo back surgery to remove part of a disc which was causing continued pain.  The operation was carried out in October 2013 and after an initial recovery period of approximately 8 weeks, was followed by a course of physiotherapy treatment.  Our client’s NHS consultant felt that she would not fully recover from her injuries for approximately 12-18 months, so we therefore delayed settling her case until she could be re-examined by a medical expert again after this period.  During this time, the opponents changed their decision on liability, admitting they were at fault for the accident.  In July 2015 we were able to organise for our client to be seen by a second medical expert, who provided an updated report on her condition and prognosis for recovery.   Once we were in possession of this, we were able to disclose our findings to the opposition and put forward a proposed financial settlement.  After a brief period of negotiation, we were able to agree a compensation sum our client was happy to accept.

Were Court proceedings necessary?: No.

Outcome:   The client secured £15,000 for her injuries and £12,500 for her financial losses, including her loss of earnings following her accident and subsequent surgery when she was unable to work and her travel expenses for numerous visits to various medical appointments.

Comment:  If the employer had ensured a risk assessment was in place to manage the task of moving heavy items from one hotel area to another and had provided appropriate equipment to do so, this accident would never have happened and our client would not have been injured.  Employers have an obligation to ensure that manual handling procedures are in place, for employees, to reduce the risk of any injury to the lowest level reasonably practicable.  In this case, the employer failed to do this and it is why they had to pay our client compensation.

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM SOLICITORS:-

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