Compensation claim news
20/12/2007
Work accident claim follows ladder fall

A former council employee has been awarded personal injury compensation of almost £30,000 after a work accident left him hurt and less employable.

The 39-year-old Dorset man had been using a ladder to store boxes in a council office loft when the devastating accident at work occurred. The ladder slipped and he was sent tumbling to the ground, sustaining a back injury, broken ribs and damage to his chest in the process.

His personal injury compensation claim argued that the ladder given to him was inadequate for the job and he had not received proper health and safety training.

As a result, his employability has now been greatly reduced as he is unable to undertake full-time manual work. His overall quality of life has also been affected, he claimed.

Talking to journalists, he said: "All of it has been shocking. The result is that I no longer have the job I enjoyed. I'm gutted because I loved it."

A judge at Southampton County Court agreed that his work accident claim was valid and ordered £10,118.64 of injury compensation to be paid as well as £19,014.14 to cover lost earnings and costs.

A spokesman for the council on the receiving end of the compensation claim commented: "It was a shock for all involved and let's hope it never happens again."