Personal car accident and work injury compensation claim at Injuries Direct

A Yorkshire dental practise has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after a receptionist suffered serious personal injury after falling through a sky light.

Sheffield Crown Court was told that forty year old Catherine Scarborough was working for the Firvale Dental Practice, in Blyde Road, Sheffield, when she and a colleague decided to have their lunch on the roof of the buildings single storey extension.

Unfortunately the woman sat on the roofs domed sky-light and the fragile plastic gave way, sending her plummeting almost three metres to the ground below.

The receptionist suffered neck, back, shoulder and knee injuries in the fall, which required hospital treatment.

An investigation by the HSE revealed that the roof area could easily be accessed by employees, despite previous warnings that the area was potentially unsafe due to the fragile roof light and the fact that no protection was in place to prevent falls from the roof edge.

The dental practises operators, Integrated Dental Holdings of Sunset Business Park in Kearsley, Bolton, was fined £18,500 after being found guilty of a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, following a successful prosecution by the HSE at Sheffield Crown Court.

A woman, who fell through the open doors of a mini-bus and suffered serious head injuries, is claiming compensation of over £300,000.

Twenty year old Natasha Flockhart, of Hafod, in Swansea, undid her seat belt and stood up to reach a bottle of Lucozade offered to her by the driver, at the same time the vehicle went over a speed bump causing Ms Flockhart to lose her balance and fall through the bus’s open doors.

The South Wales Evening Post is reporting that Ms Flockhart suffered serious head injuries in the accident, which have left her unable to care for herself properly and has put her at an increased risk of developing epilepsy.

She has now launched a claim for compensation against the driver of the mini-bus and his employers Briggs Coaches, claiming that the driver had been negligent by driving too fast and allowing the doors of the mini-bus to remain open.

In legal papers presented to the High Court in London Ms Flockhart is claiming more than £300,000 in damages, with a stipulation that will allow her to return to court and claim more, should she develop epilepsy as a result of her injuries.

A crane driver, who suffered life changing injuries in the Chandlers Wharf crash disaster, is to make a claim for work accident compensation.

Fifty five year old Iain Gillham, from Woolton, on Merseyside, was left paralysed from the waist down, when a tower crane almost seventy nine metres high, toppled over during a multi million pound building project in Liverpool city centre.

The crane crashed into the partially built Chandlers Wharf apartment block and Mr. Gillham was thrown from the two hundred foot high crane cabin and plummeted through a hole in the buildings roof caused by the falling crane.

The crane driver suffered devastating injuries in the accident including a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage, as well as numerous broken bones and major spinal damage, which caused his paralysis and has left him confined to a wheelchair.

An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that the crane’s foundation had been altered in such a way that it was no longer capable of withstanding the extreme forces it was subjected to.

The two construction companies involved in the building project were found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, following a three week trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, of Heage, in Derbyshire was fined £280,000 and Bingham Davis Ltd, who went into voluntary liquidation shortly after the crane crash was fined a nominal £1,000.

A spokesperson from Mr. Gillham’s legal team stated that any compensation awarded, which has not as yet been finalised, would go towards meeting his extensive life-long care needs.

A female health care worker fractured her kneecap, after slipping on a wet floor at a hospital in Ipswich.

Ipswich Magistrates’ Court was told that Shelagh Allen, from Mendlesham, in Suffolk, was working at the Nuffield Health Ipswich Hospital, when she slipped on a wet floor which had just been wet mopped by a housekeeper.

Mrs Allen suffered multiple fractures to her right kneecap in the accident, which required surgery, she was later fitted with a leg brace and had to rely on crutches in order to get around.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that Nuffield Health had failed to protect employees by not carrying out an adequate risk assessment of cleaning procedures.

Nuffield Health, of New Malden, in Surrey, was prosecuted by the HSE and fined £5,000 after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Speaking after the court hearing a HSE inspector stated that the accident could have been totally avoided, had the health care provider planned the cleaning to take place at a quieter time and restricted staff access to wet floors.

Slips, trips and falls remain the number one cause of serious personal injury to employees and many workers injured in such a way go on to make successful accident at work compensation claims.

A cemetery worker has received more than £65,000 in compensation, after suffering serious personal injury when he fell into the grave he was preparing.

The Sunday Mercury is reporting that the unnamed council worker suffered an injury to his right knee, when a burial chamber collapsed and sent him plummeting into the grave.

A freedom of information request revealed that Birmingham City Council paid the grave digger £65,672 in work injury compensation, following the incident which happened in 2010.

The newspaper also revealed that during the years 2006 to 2011 Birmingham City Council paid out a total of £4.9 million in compensation to settle 274 claims.

Amongst the most notable cases was the £100,000 in compensation paid to a Birmingham school employee, who injured her back, after slipping on spilt food while walking through a dinner hall.

Another two school workers were awarded £20,000 each, after one slipped on an icy path fracturing her knee, while the other tripped over the edge of a carpet and injured her shoulder.

A spokesperson from the council stated that Birmingham had one of the biggest local authorities in the UK and that the claims for compensation represented only a tiny fraction of the total workforce, which was believed to be between 48,000 and 55,000 individuals, over the period concerned.

A shipyard apprentice from Cornwall suffered serious personal injury, after falling from scaffolding at a dry dock in Falmouth.

David Banks, from St Austell, was just nineteen years old when he fell almost two metres from the unsecured scaffolding and suffered serious knee injuries.

Truro magistrate’s court was told that the teenage employee was working in the dry dock, stripping away plastic sheeting which was being used to protect a boat during painting.

He was working at a height of roughly two metres when the scaffolding boards he was working from tipped and sent him plummeting to the dock floor below.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the teenager was unaware that the scaffolding boards had not been secured and no safety rails were in place to help prevent a fall.

Pendennis Shipyard Ltd, of The Docks, in Falmouth, was fined £6,000 after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, following a successful prosecution brought by the HSE.

Speaking after the court hearing the investigating HSE inspector, stated that the incident could easily have been much more serious than it was and the company had failed to provide a safe method of working for its employees.

An employee at a Lancashire steel manufacturing company suffered serious personal injury, after he was struck by a working platform that fell from the forks of a forklift truck.

The unnamed fifty year old employee was working for EDV Reinforcements Ltd, at their premises on the Redscar Industrial Estate, in Preston, when he was struck by the falling platform.

The man suffered serious back and muscle injuries, as well as a fractured rib in the work accident.

Preston Magistrates’ Court heard that the heavy metal platform was being used to transport a quantity of steel mesh, when it slid off the forks and struck the worker who was standing nearby.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the platform was just resting on the forklifts forks and was not secured in any way.

EDV Reinforcements Ltd was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay court costs totalling £3,566 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, following a successful prosecution by the HSE.

Speaking after the court hearing a HSE inspector stated that the company had been negligent by allowing the platform to be lifted, without first ensuring it was properly secured.

A farm employee suffered serious personal injury, when the quad bike he was riding over-turned at a farm in Derbyshire.

The forty two year old worker from Church Broughton, who has not been named, was working for JD and RL Spalton, at a farm in Barton Blount and was using the ATV (all terrain vehicle), to round up sheep.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court, was told that the man suffered serious multiple injuries, when the quad bike over-turned as he travelled along a farm track.

His injuries included damage to his liver, a broken jaw and a wound to his stomach; he also lost his right eye in the accident and had to be airlifted to hospital, where he spent two weeks on the intensive care ward.

An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the vehicle had defective brakes and steering and was in an overall poorly maintained condition.

David Spalton, of JD and RL Spalton, was fined £2,500 after admitting breaching health and safety regulations and was also ordered to pay £2,000 in court costs.

Speaking after the court hearing the investigating HSE inspector stated that the accident could easily have been avoided, had the vehicle been properly maintained and suitable protective equipment provided.

A brick manufacturing company has been prosecuted, after an employee suffered serious crush injuries in a work accident.

The forty eight year old worker, who has not been named, was working for the multi-national brick making firm Wienerberger Ltd, at their plant in Hartlebury, in Worcestershire.

Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court was told that the employee was attempting to fix a fault, which had halted production on a brick packaging line.

In order to do this he climbed up onto the production lines conveyor belt, unfortunately as he did so, the line unexpectedly re-started and the worker was crushed by a descending pallet lifter.

The employee suffered a severe back puncture wound, several fractured ribs and extensive bruising; his injuries were so serious that he had to stay off work for a period of six weeks.

An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that an interlock fixed to a gate on the machines perimeter safety fence, had been disconnected.

Wienerberger Ltd, of Cheadle, in Cheshire, was fined £20,000 after admitting a breach of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.

An aspiring teenage model has been awarded just over £20,000 in damages, after injuring her foot at a swimming pool.

The Irish Times is reporting that fifteen year old Shonagh Molloy, of Co. Dublin, in Ireland, who is registered with a national modelling agency, cut her foot on a broken tile while swimming at the Trinity Sports and Leisure Club, in Donaghmede, on her fourteenth birthday.

The Circuit Civil Court was told that the teenager had been making a turn at the pool but as she kicked off from the wall a broken tile underneath the water line, caused a major laceration to her foot.

Her heel was cut through to the tendons and she was taken to the Temple Street children’s hospital, where she had sutures applied under a local anaesthetic.

The court heard that the broken and jagged tile had been left in the side wall, as a result of recent maintenance work at the sport and leisure club.

The schoolgirl was awarded €25,000 (£20,344) in compensation following the accident and doctors stated that although the scarring would be permanent it would only be “mildly disfiguring”.

Her career as a catwalk model was unaffected, as the injury did not affect her ability to walk normally.