Mr B of Oldham was employed as a drainage engineer and was working on site at a client’s premises.
Having arrived on site he was asked to clear a blocked downspout/gutter. Whilst discussing what to do with others on site Mr B was instructed to climb some ladders left by other workers to gain access to the roof in order to access the drainage pipe.
Upon returning towards the ladders having looked at the drainage pipe, Mr B stepped on a skylight which had been painted over so that it was the same colour as the roof. He subsequently fell through the roof some 16 metres and landed on the floor sustaining injuries to both legs, shattering a kneecap and his right elbow.
Mr B contacted Harold Stock & Co Solicitors who obtained a full statement from him having discussed with him the circumstances surrounding his accident and then contacted his employers to advise them of the claim against them. The employers suggested it was not their fault but the fault of the company who allowed him access to the roof without providing him with any information as to the dangers of doing so. Both of these parties were contacted and joined in the Court Proceedings.
Mr B was medically examined and the extent of his injuries were confirmed by medical reports from Orthopaedic Consultants and an assessment was carried out as to his ability to work in the future. He was confirmed as being 56% disabled and would not be in a position to drive a manual motor vehicle and was told that he would have one leg shorter than the other and he would have to have one of his legs re-broken and re-set as a result of his injuries.
Harold Stock & Co calculated his loss of earnings up-to-date and confirmed that Mr B who was young enough to re-train was looking at re-training over the next 5 years. He would also require future surgery that would have to be compensated for and future care after each bout of surgery as well as having to use a gardener and somebody to do his DIY and the cost of an automatic car. He was entitled to all of these as he was unable to carry out any of these activities himself and prior to his accident he would have been in a position to carry out these tasks.
Having assessed all Mr B’s injuries and having considered his employability in the future, a joint settlement meeting was organised and Mr B recovered in excess of £300,000. He successfully pursued a claim against his employers who failed to provide him with the necessary safety equipment for working on a roof and the cost was shared with the company that allowed him access to the roof without warning about the presence of the skylight. Between them they apportioned blame and had to compensate Mr B heavily for their failure to comply with Health & Safety at work.
