Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Baggage Handler Injured Due to Faulty Work Equipment
1st November 2010
In the course of his work at an airport, our client suffered a thumb injury due to a defective lock in an aeroplane hold. Our specialist personal injury lawyers pursued a claim against his employer and the supplier of the plane on his behalf and he was awarded compensation.
Accident at Work
Our client was a baggage handler, working at an airport on planes from various airlines. On the day of his accident at work he was loading cans of baggage into the hold of a plane and had to push down a lock in order to secure them. The lock was very stiff and he had to push more than once with some effort to make it move. It then gave way very suddenly however and his thumb was injured as a result.
The claimant required hospital treatment for a torn ligament. The damage was to his dominant hand and he required time off work and help with daily activities during his recovery. Eventually he had to leave his job at the airport because of the injury and he has been left with ongoing problems with his thumb. This affects his current job and his ability to continue with hobbies.
Compensation Claim
There had been previous complaints about the locks, but the problem was not addressed by his employer and there was no equipment provided to help employees to free them when they became stuck. Our client was following the same, accepted method of working he had always used and it was common practice to try and free the locks a couple of times before calling in an engineer, as they were under pressure to make sure the aircraft took off on time.
We began a personal injury claim against our client’s employer and also the airline that supplied the plane. The airline because they supplied the faulty equipment and the client’s employer for failing to take sufficient health and safety measures to protect employees from injury. They both denied responsibility for his workplace accident and we therefore pursued the case to Court.
It was found that both companies breached the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Judge awarded damages to the injured worker, in respect of his personal injury and related expenses and losses.
Workplace Injury Advice
If you suffer an injury because of an accident at work which was caused by the negligence of someone else, you may be entitled to make an injury claim. It is important to seek legal advice from an experienced personal injury lawyer at the earliest opportunity.
Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online, for specialist accident claim advice and to find out if you have a valid claim for compensation.
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