One of our clients (aged 38) was employed in Swindon as a delivery driver for a local furniture company. During January 2012, he visited a block of flats in Swindon to deliver a sofa to a customer. To do so, he had to travel in a lift from the ground floor to the lower ground floor. As the lift doors opened, a large metal plate fell from above the door of the lift and struck him on the head and he sustained a modest injury as a result.
It was our view that this accident should not have happened and we wrote to the owner of the block of flats (who should have ensured that the lift in question was safe for their lawful visitors) and also to a second company (who are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the lift). Both companies vigorously denied liability, (they argued that the metal plate was secured and the accident only occurred due to some action on the part of our client). As a consequence, we issued proceedings at Swindon County Court.
This matter was eventually tried by a District Judge during March 2014 and she handed down her judgment during July 2014. She found both Defendants equally to blame (the lift had been unsafe causing the accident) and awarded judgment in favour of our client.
S. J. Edney solicitors obtained compensation of £2,900 for this client during 2014