£50,000 compensation has been paid to an employee who suffered a head injury at work.
Our client was sorting metal scrap at the reprocessing plant where he worked. While he was working he was felled without warning by a huge blow to the back of his head. As a result he suffered a major skull fracture and had to be airlifted to a neurological unit in Plymouth, where his life was saved by immediate surgery.
He asked us to deal with his head injury at work compensation claim, and we agreed to proceed on a No Win, No Fee basis. This meant that he did not face any financial risks in bringing a legal claim.
The subsequent accident investigation showed that our client had been hit by a bolt that had sheared off the jib of a crane elsewhere in the yard. It was in effect a freak accident that had been caused when the crane operator carelessly allowed his crane to strike a metal stanchion. Incredibly, the bolt had shot across the yard, penetrated our client’s hard hat, and still managed to fracture his skull and penetrate the brain.
Although it was a one in a million occurrence, the accident would not have happened had it not been for the carelessness of the crane operator. We therefore submitted a head injury at work compensation claim to our client’s employers, holding them liable for the carelessness of our client’s fellow employee who was operating the crane.
Employers are required to have employers liability insurance and the claim was therefore passed to the relevant insurance company. They recognised that our client had been the innocent victim of a serious head injury at work and agreed to compensate him.
He suffered two epileptic fits shortly after surgery, but fortunately did not develop long-term epilepsy. He gradually recovered from difficulties with memory, speech and concentration.
Once all the required medical reports had been obtained we were in the position to enter into settlement negotiations with the employer’s insurance company. Eventually an out of court settlement of £50,000 in compensation was agreed.