Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for Workplace back injury

A man whose career was ended when he slipped down a grass verge at work has been awarded £250,000 in compensation.

Mr Smith, 61, was reading meters at one of the factories owned by his employer, Glen Dimplex Cooking. To gain access to the meter house he had to walk up a slippery grass slope. After he had taken the meter reading, he slipped as he went back down the slope and fell to the bottom, severely injuring his back in the process.

After the accident, Mr Smith was given painkilling injections and tried to return to work part-time, but he was unable to continue. He subsequently had an operation on his back but this did not enable him to continue working and he was forced to retire.

Mr Smith's quality of life has been seriously affected by the accident. He is no longer able to enjoy many of the activities he took part in before he was injured and he has to endure considerable pain.

Mr Smith's employer should have provided a safe means of access to and from the meter house. The firm admitted liability for the accident and agreed to an out of court settlement of £250,000 in compensation.

Employers are under an obligation to provide their workers with a working environment that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and does not present any risks to health. This includes a duty to carry out risk assessments to identify potential dangers and minimise the risk of accident these pose. If risk assessments are not carried out and a worker is injured, there may be a good claim in law for compensation.
If you have been injured at work through no fault of your own, contact Neil Lorimer, Partner to discuss your claim. Beware of delay as there are strict time limits for pursuing a claim.