The claimant in this case was employed as an engineer by a building company. The claimant was instructed to take an industrial steel tube and cut it to size. It was a task the claimant hadn’t done before and they received no clear instructions on how the task should be completed in a safe manner.
The steel tube were stored incorrectly on a storage rack that suddenly gave way and fell on the claimant, hitting his foot. Not only were the tubes stacked incorrectly but the storage rack was not fit for the purpose of storing metal tubes as there were no barriers from preventing the tubes from falling out.
Steel toe-capped leather safety boots could not avoid an injury in this entirely preventable accident.
About the injury
The claimant’s injuries were notably serious enough at the time of the accident to justify further medical intervention, and a hospital visit was therefore arranged. Multiple fractures and soft tissue damage to the foot was diagnosed from where the steel tubes struck the foot, and a cast was used to immobilise the leg.
Due to the cast and the pain, the claimant was off work for several weeks.
About the claim
As is common, the claimant was worried about bringing proceedings against an employer in case they deducted wages or treated the claimant differently. However, there are rules against this sort of practice, and given the nature of the injury, the claimant was reassured that they were safe to claim and it was the right thing to do.
We were instructed to act for the case, and having assessed the claimant’s situation, and agreeing that the claimant had a worthy claim, The Injury Lawyers initiated a claim on his behalf.
The insurer denied liability for the claimant’s injuries, but we were not fazed by this and proceeded to bring legal proceedings. Employers have an important duty to provide a reasonably safe workplace for all of their employees, and we argued that in this case the workplace was clearly unsafe according to health and safety regulations.
Responsibilities in providing and maintaining a safe workplace include making suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to health and safety their employers are exposed to. Only through doing this can employers appreciate what dangers they’re putting their employees through, and in identifying them, what further steps need to be taken to make sure these risks are minimised.
They must also ensure employees are provided with adequate training.
In this case, the claimant’s employer should have given all workers information and guidance on what health and safety rules are in place and what they can do to ensure they stick to them. If this was followed, the claimant’s colleagues ought to have known how to store the steel tubes properly so they wouldn’t fall out and cause injury.
We fought and won the case despite the insurer’s refusal to accept liability at the start of the case, and we’re pleased to have settled another claim.