Work accident thumb injury claim – patience pays off for injured bin man

Corries Solicitors compensation team have secured £35,000 for a man injured at work.

Corries are leading personal injury claims specialists.  Call us FREE on 0800 655 6550.

Work accident Claim Case facts

Our Client Mr R was working an extra Saturday morning shift in April 2015 collecting waste in a disposal lorry.  He was part of a two-man team that collected the bins, put them on to the lifting mechanism then pressed the button at the side of the lorry.  As he attached the bin his thumb was caught in the mechanism. He was lifted bodily onto his tip toes.

The lorry was stopped.  It took 30 minutes to release him from the mechanism.  He was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Mr R and his mates had not used this lorry before. It had a new auto lift control that they were not trained on.  The accident was logged in an accident book.

What happened next?

After using national advertised solicitors Mr R contacted Corries for advice in Spring 2017.  He had been happy with our work on a road traffic accident claim so we took over from his previous solicitors. He had suffered nine weeks off work. There had been four operations on his thumb and he was expecting further surgery. He was 57 when he was injured and he was worried about his future working ability.

Our team got to work and lodged the claim straightaway.  We secured an early and sensible admittance of fault from the defendant.

This left the value of the case to be decided.

Work accident medical evidence – the long road

As solicitors we often publicize those cases where we have won compensation quickly or easily. However much of our skill lies in knowing when and on what basis a claim can be settled. The pathway of treatment from 2015 was worked through and the further operations needed had to be considered. The surgeries resulted in removing half of inch of thumb and possibly more work to follow.

We investigated and found a leading thumb surgery expert. He was asked to consider how Mr R could use his thumb in the future and how it would affect his work, home life and the future.

The expert helped us to show what had been done to date and that one final operation to tidy up the bone would bring that pathway to an end.

A further final operation was planned and booked.

Court proceedings

In May 2018, because three years had passed from his accident, we had to issue court proceedings. Within a short time after Mr R had got to a point where he had a broadly settled level of pain and function in the thumb.

We were able to put this position to the defendants and after this an offer was made and we secured settlement at £35,000. The defendants have also agreed to pay for the final surgical procedure and have paid this directly to the hospital.

This means our client Mr R, who is now 60 years old, has some compensation for his losses and to make sure he has money to help him for the rest of his life.

Work accident – Comment

Maria McMurray who secured the settlement commented

“This was a nasty injury which some simple training could have avoided. The injury was severe and could have been even worse.

Taking the time to get the right medical evidence and to check how Mr R would be able to function was of great importance. He has got other good work and has money to help him should he need it.”

If you have had an accident and need advice our team will be glad to help you. Call us FREE for advice and support on 0800 655 6550.