Polish Worker Receives £72,000 After Thumb Crushed in Accident at Work

Mr R was working as an operative at a recycle and waste company in Greater Manchester. On the day of his accident, he was carrying out his normal duties, processing materials and had hold of two metal fence post spikes, both approximately 70cm in length. He was holding the posts above his head whilst his colleague maneuverered a Mechanical Excavator Grapple machine. Mr R’s colleague attempted to take hold of the metal posts from our client’s hands using the grapple machine, but unfortunately the clamps closed and our client’s right dominant thumb was accidentally crushed. His thumb was immediately amputated in the incident.

After the instant amputation, our client was taken to Hospital to undergo emergency surgery in an attempt to re-attach his thumb. After hours of long surgery, it proved unsuccessful and Mr R was left without the top of half of his thumb.

Mr R contacted us for help with a personal injury claim against his employer.  We reviewed the case and agreed that he had been let down by his employer who had failed to properly follow multiple safety regulations, including the Manual Handling Operations Regulation 1992 and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. We accepted the case on a no win no fee basis. Our expert teams of solicitors fully prepared the case and alleged the Defendant employer was negligent in failing to provide adequate training in respect of the specific hazards involved with his work and exposed him to a foreseeable risk of injury.  Expert evidence was obtained from by a specialist Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon who confirmed that our client’s thumb was not salvageable from above the interphalangeal joint and unfortunately he would continue to suffer with sharp and painful compressions against the remaining bone.

Our client’s employer passed the matter to their insurance company who after seeing all the evidence agreed to make a compensation payment.  We gathered evidence in support of our client losses and his injury, including the impact the injury would have on his ability to earn a living in the future.  After some negotiations we settled our client’s compensation claim for £72,000.

If you have suffered an accident whilst at work which has caused you to suffer an injury, or if you 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 Kelsall (Tarporley).

You can call us on 0161 989 9400 or complete the Contact Us form. Or Polish speaking clients can email us in Polish directly to claims@llbsolicitors.co.uk with any Accident at Work queries.