Danielle Callaway, associate solicitor, recently settled a case for a client who sustained injury as a result of an accident at work.
Our client commenced his shift and was collecting his lorry from a bay in order to proceed with his duties. Our client was required to walk between 2 lorries in order to get to his parked lorry. As he stepped between the 2 lorries from the path, he fell into a pit (used for inspecting underneath the lorries) which was approximately 5 feet deep.
As a result of the accident, our client sustained a fracture to his lower vertebrae and a significant strain to the ligaments, muscles and discs of his lower spine. The accident accelerated a pre-existing degenerative disc disease by a period of 5 years, causing ongoing nerve root irritation which exacerbated his back and left leg pain. Symptoms related to the fracture were expected to have resolved within 6 months of the accident. His ongoing symptoms were consistent with someone with constitutional back pain which had been brought forward by the accident.
Our client was absent from work for 9 months following the accident, as a result of the injuries. He was restricted with day-to-day tasks for a period of 6-8 months, following the accident, and required assistance with personal care and domestic chores. He continued to suffer from some restrictions for a period of up to 2 years, which included gardening.
Our client received £65,000.00 in compensation, following an out of court settlement.