£30,000 Compensation for Accident at Work Injury Despite Earlier Compromise Agreement with Employer

£30,000 Compensation for Accident at Work Injury Despite Earlier Compromise Agreement with Employer

Our client was working as a warehouseman in Cheshire and was asked to move glass panels inside a van to make space for loading further materials. Another employee of the company had released the straps that held the panels in place and therefore the panels were unsecured. The ground where the van was positioned to load the additional materials was uneven. Our client was instructed to secure the glass panels, but noticed they were sliding off their stand due to their weight and the uneven ground below. He realised he was about to be crushed underneath and jumped off the van. However, the 400kg glass panels also fell off the van and trapped our client’s legs. He feared he would never walk again.

Our client sustained injuries to his leg, including a fracture requiring two screws, a slipped lumbar disc, a head injury, scars, and psychological injury from the accident. Doctors referred our client to physiotherapy and advised ongoing numbness and reduced mobility in his legs could be permanent.

Soon after the accident, our client was invited by his employer to sign a compromise agreement to release and forever discharge the employer from all claims and causes of action. The compromise settlement included a payment of £2,000 to prevent any future injury claim. Our client signed the compromise agreement.

Two and a half years passed, and our client was still suffering with his injuries. He suspected he may have been duped by his employers and that he had undervalued his claim. He approached us to review his claim, just six months from the Limitation deadline (read more about Limitation here).

Having reviewed the circumstances, our view was that the compromise agreement was open to challenge.  Further, we established that our client had not received adequate health and safety training on the safe loading and lifting of heavy materials, nor had he received any inductions upon joining the company.

We were instructed to pursue a personal injury claim and after we commenced Court proceedings his employer conceded liability and agreed to settle the claim. After obtaining medical evidence and negotiating with the defendant’s insurance company we secured £30,000 in compensation. This figure reflects the extensive injuries caused to our client, his loss of amenities from being unable to participate in his favourite hobbies, his loss of earnings, and also access to future treatment that will aid his recovery.

We were delighted to achieve this award for our client after his claim was so drastically undervalued in the compromise settlement.  No employee should be placed in a position of danger and suffer injuries due to the carelessness of their employers, and employers should not look to under-settle claims before injured employees have had the chance to obtain independent advice.

If you have suffered an accident whilst at work which has caused you to suffer an injury, or have another legal problem you need help with, please contact our specialist compensation solicitors today for a free no obligation discussion.  We represent clients nationally, or from our Cheshire offices in Cheadle Hulme (Stockport) and Keslall (Tarporley).

You can call us on 0161 989 9400 or complete the Contact Us form.