Back Injury

One of our clients (who is now aged 42) developed a bad back during the course of her employment with the Defendant, a company based in Swindon, during 2006. Her job title changed and she was now expected to do heavy work which in turn caused her to suffer from back pain. It was our case that this new job required tasks which were in breach of the Manual Handling Regulations. She was off work from about November 2006 to May 2007, some 6 months. The party’s medical experts disagreed as to the cause of her back pain. The Defendant’s expert took the view that her back pain was coincidental with her work rather than a consequence of it. Our medical expert disagreed. Fortunately, our client was able to return to work and provided she was careful she is able to her manage her back pain. Proceedings had to be issued at Court and the parties were eventually able to reach a satisfactory settlement.

S J Edney solicitors obtained damages of £6,000.00 for this client during 2009.

 

Manhole Accident

One of our clients (aged 63) had a nasty accident just outside his home in Priory Vale, Swindon. During April 2009, he was walking in the communal garden, when he stepped on manhole cover which collapsed beneath him, causing him to fall into it and suffer lacerations to both his legs. Fortunately, he made a complete recovery from his injuries within a period of 2 months although he has been left with some minor scars on both legs. The insurers of the company responsible for the said manhole cover admitted liability following receipt of our letter of claim.

S J Edney solicitors obtained damages of £3,750.00 for this client during 2009.

 

Accident on M25

We acted for a family of three who were involved in a road traffic accident during November 2007 on the M25. Their car collided with a foreign registered lorry which caused their car to spin out of control and hit the central reservation. The driver and his passenger (1) sustained whiplash injuries and his passenger (2) broke her clavicle. This was a difficult case as it took us some time to obtain the details of the UK agents of the foreign insurer of the other vehicle. Once we had their details, we were able to negotiate a settlement on behalf of our clients fairly quickly.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation for these clients during 2009:
Driver - £3,250.00
Passenger (1) - £3,650.00
Passenger (2) - £12,000.00

 

RTA fatality

In a very sad case, we were acting for the driver and his passenger (1) together with the estate of his second passenger (2) who was killed in the road accident during September 2007. The driver had collected his mother-in-law (who was aged 87) at the time from a nursing home in Purton, Swindon and was taking her for an eye check-up at the Malmesbury Hospital also in Wiltshire. Although frail, she was still mentally alert. As they approach a junction controlled by traffic lights, a Royal Mail lorry travelling in the opposite direction to their car suddenly turned into their path causing a collision between both vehicles. The driver and his passenger (1) sustained soft tissue injuries but unfortunately his elderly passenger (2) suffered a number of serious fractures including a fracture to her sternum and left arm. Whilst at hospital, she contracted MRSA and C.Dif and in December 2007 she died from a pulmonary embolism which we argued only happened because of her earlier accident. The insurers of Royal Mail initially disputed liability and maintained that our client who was driving was to blame. We issued proceedings at Court and this coincided with the Inquest when the evidence quite clearly showed that the Royal Mail driver was to blame. A settlement was then achieved for our three clients.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation for these clients during 2009:-
Driver - £6,000.00
Passenger (1) - £5,000.00
Passenger (2 ie. her Estate) - £21,000.00

 

Assault at work

We were acting for a young woman (aged 28) who was the victim of a horrific assault whilst at work during May 2007. At the time, she was working as a Support Worker for a Care Agency in Gloucester. She had to visit a 17 year old male at his flat. During this visit, he tried to pull a bag over her head to suffocate her. Fortunately, she managed to get free and escape and seek assistance. Not surprisingly, this incident had a huge impact on her and caused her to develop PTSD. She underwent counselling which helped her. She also had no option but to leave her chosen career of caring and find an alternative job. The prognosis for a full recovery is encouraging although she will always be vulnerable to a further relapse. The insurers of the care agency accepted liability and following a period of extensive negotiations we were able to achieve a settlement for her.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £45,000.00 for this client during 2009.

 

Injury to a foot

One of our clients, a lady (aged 59) who lives in London was involved in a road accident during February 2008. Briefly, she and her daughter were crossing a large cul-de-sac. Just before they had reached the pavement on the other side of the road, a motorcar (coming from their left) nearly collided with our client but unfortunately, one of its wheels came to rest on her left foot, breaking 3 metatarsals. It took her some 3 months before she was able to return to work and during this period she initially had to wear a plaster on her foot and later had to use crutches. She has made a good recovery from her injuries and the prognosis for a full recovery in the future was encouraging. There was no claim for loss of earnings. Initially, the insurers of the driver disputed liability but after we provided them with a copy of the Police Accident report and witness Statements, they agreed to indemnify her and we were able to reach a satisfactory settlement of her claim without the need to issue Court proceedings.

S J Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £10,500.00 for this client during 2009

 

Employee falls down the stairs

Another client (aged 37) suffered an injury at work during December 2005. She was coming down some metal stairs, which were difficult to negotiate. She was carrying a file. She is not sure exactly what happened but she fell down the stairs (from half way up all the way down to the bottom), landing awkwardly on her left side and twisting her left knee. It was our case that the stairs were dangerous making this type of accident foreseeable. She damaged the cruciate ligament in her knee which has left her with some minor symptoms although fortunately it has not prevented her from returning to work. The insurers of her employer admitted liability for her accident but were only prepared to settle her claim for the sum of 11,135.00. As a consequence, we had no option but to issue proceedings and shortly afterwards they increased their offer to £14,000.00 which our client accepted.

S J Edney solicitors obtained £14,000.00 for this client in 2009

 

Back injury caused by unsafe work practice

Our client (aged 29) was employed as a productive operative by Honda at their car factory in Swindon. During the course of his employment he undertook a number of tasks which required him to turn and twist his body into various positions and he found this to be difficult as he was very tall. There was also no system of job rotation. He went on to develop back symptoms and it was our case that his work at Honda was not undertaken in a safe manner. We obtained ergonomic evidence which was supportive of his claim. The difficulty with his case however was that our client did have some degenerative disc disease already in his lumbar spine and the unsafe working environment only exacerbated his back symptoms by a period of 2 to 3 years. The insurers of Honda disputed liability and we had no option but to issue proceedings. Once they had appointed solicitors, they could see the merit of his claim and we were able to negotiate a settlement on his behalf which included his loss of earnings arising from his absences from work caused by his back injury.

S J Edney solicitors obtained £15,500.00 for this client in 2009

 

 

Care assistant caught MRSA from nursing home

Our client (aged 44) was employed as a Care Assistant at a Nursing Home in Trowbridge. She received very little (if any) training in infection control measures. As part of her duties, she was required to wash and dress a number of elderly residents. She was prone to suffering from eczema which her employer knew. She then developed MRSA and later discovered that two of the residents at the home also had this infection. It was our case that on balance she probably caught the infection whilst employed by the nursing home. MRSA cases are notoriously difficult to win but after obtaining an expert’s opinion there was strong evidence to support our position that she caught it whilst working at the home. Although, liability was initially disputed, once we disclosed our expert evidence a settlement was achieved for our client. Fortunately, she recovered from this infection within a relatively shortly period of time and it will have no impact on her ability to work.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £6,000.00 for this client in 2009

 

Trapped stiletto causes broken arm

One of our clients (aged 49) attended her daughter’s wedding reception at a hotel in Swindon. The dance floor at the reception was only a temporary construction and had been erected beforehand. There were small gaps between the floor panels. Whilst our client was dancing, one of her stilettos got caught in one of the gaps, causing her to fall over and break her right arm. She had to undergo surgery. Fortunately, she has made a good recovery from this injury and there was no claim for loss of earnings. After receiving our letter of claim the insurers of the hotel admitted liability. We were able to negotiate a settlement for her.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £11,700.00 for this client in 2009

 

Manhole cover gave way causing injuries including a fracture to the wrist

Another client (aged 50) was working as an agency worker for a Garden/Landscape company. In June 2008, he and some of his colleagues were weeding and tidying up a flower bed at a local school. At one point he stood on a manhole cover beside the flower bed which gave way under his weight. As a consequence, he suffered a number of injuries the more serious being a fracture to his left non dominant wrist. He made a good recovery from his injuries and the prognosis for the future was encouraging. He had been off work for a few months. Although, liability was conceded at an early stage, it took us a little while before we were able to negotiate a fair settlement for our client.

SJ Edney solicitors obtained £22,000.00 for this client in 2009