.jpg)
A music teacher from Birmingham, who title="Slips, Trips and Falls at Work Claims">fell off stage and injured her leg while coaching the National Youth Orchestra, has been awarded £65,000 in compensation.
The 64-year-old title="MU">Musicians’ Union member was teaching oboe to students from the National Youth Orchestra at the University of London, when she fell from the stage and severely injured her lower right leg. The stage had been poorly lit and its edges were not clearly marked.
After undergoing surgery to repair fractures to her tibia and fibula in London, she was transferred to a hospital closer to her Birmingham home. But, when her injuries failed to heal and she developed an infection, she needed a metal frame fitted to her leg and a skin graft.
“The past few years have been traumatic and caused me anxiety, as I wondered if and when my leg would fully heal,” she said. “Thankfully, the pain has mostly gone, but I’m nowhere near as mobile as I used to be. I am still self-conscious about the scar on my leg from the surgical procedures.”
She wore a leg frame for a year and spent another two months in a cast. She couldn’t return to full-time work for more than 18 months and her foot and ankle remain stiff, restricting her ability to cycle and walk long distances.
As a member of the Musicians’ Union, she sought free legal support from Thompsons Solicitors’ accident at work experts. Unlike many high-street legal firms, she didn’t have to pay a success fee and secured £65,000 in full.
On making a compensation claim, she added: “The entire legal process was thorough and I felt supported and in safe hands at all times.”
Dawn Rodger, of the Musicians’ Union, said: “Being unable to return to work for more than 18 months due to injury can have a significant impact on someone’s life, as can the sort of pain our member has endured because of her injury. Securing a settlement has at least enabled her to recover the financial loss she experienced and help her look to the future.”
John Mullen, of Thompsons Solicitors, added: “Poor health and safety practices put our client, and her students, at unnecessary risk and left her in substantial pain and with long-lasting complications. This case shows health and safety isn’t something to pay lip service to or dismiss as a joke.”