Our client instructed The Injury Lawyers after he dislocated two fingers when his overalls were caught in the mechanism of a magnetic drill he was using at work. There were no guards on the drill and no emergency stop functions meaning that the drill couldn’t be turned off in time to prevent the injury.
We felt this was a clear breach of several workplace health and safety regulations and we were happy to fight his case on a no win, no fee basis. We had a fight on our hands since the insurers tried to dispute liability.
The insurers suggested our client didn’t need to hold the drill and as such his hands didn’t need to be anywhere near the moving mechanism. However, several of these recently purchased drills had been returned as faulty due to the magnets not working correctly. Our client therefore had to use his hands closer, and with these new ones having no guards, it was an accident waiting to happen.
We were successful in persuading the insurers to accept fault and they eventually (although somewhat reluctantly) did admit fault. Our client had received no training in relation to the use of the new drill which was on top of the fact that the equipment lacked guards and stop mechanisms – clear breaches of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.
He had to have extensive treatment for the hand as a result of the dislocation to the fingers, and after obtaining medical evidence to show the extent and severity of our client’s loss, we received an offer of £10,000.00 to settle the case.
The offer was agreeable and our client was happy to accept it in line with our advice to do so.
As specialist work accident lawyers our expertise are in fighting for the rights of victims injured in the workplace and making sure that they receive a payout that is fair and accurate to reflect their suffering. The specialist hand surgeon we instructed for the medical evidence is known as one of the best in the country; its access to that kind of vital medical expertise that can really mean the difference between getting a standard payout or a fantastic payout.
Medical experts are independent and their duty is to the court – not to us, you, or the other side.
