Compensation for workplace injuries

According to the latest Health & Safety Executive report on injuries in the workplace, during the last year employees suffered over 200,000 reportable injuries whilst at work.

I recently acted for Mr R, who was one of this high number of people who unfortunately suffer injuries each year whilst doing their jobs.

Mr R was employed at a restaurant and was cleaning some equipment as part of his normal duties when the equipment came apart, causing a nasty injury to his non-dominant thumb.  Over the course of several months, Mr R underwent surgery to his thumb three times and required hand therapy.

I sent a letter of claim to Mr R’s employers stating that they were to blame for the accident because they had provided defective equipment.  They investigated the matter and eventually admitted that they were at fault.

Fortunately, Mr R was able to return to work fairly soon after the accident and has gone on to make a reasonably good recovery from his injuries.  However, he does have difficulty with some aspects of his job owing to continuing discomfort in his thumb.

The medical expert whom I instructed to report on Mr R’s injuries felt that he could benefit from some further surgery, which could be done at any point in the future.  As Mr R had already undergone surgery several times, he decided that he would rather wait before proceeding with further surgery.  We therefore decided to try to settle his claim at this stage but at the same time ensure that there would be adequate provision for him to have the surgery on a private basis when he felt it was the right time to do so.

I therefore submitted Mr R’s losses to his employer’s insurance company, including the costs of future surgery, and after some negotiation, his claim settled for £10,000.