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A railway worker who broke his knee when trying to undertake emergency repairs to a train track has received £20,000 in compensation following help from his union’s lawyers.
Edlin Linton, 54, from Wolverhampton underwent surgery on his knee following the accident while working for Network Rail.
He had previously been advised by another law firm that he didn’t have a case for claiming accident compensation.
Mr Linton decided to contact his union the RMT for a second opinion which referred him to its lawyers Thompsons Solicitors, the UK’s most experienced title="Personal Injury">personal injury lawyers.
It soon became clear that Mr Linton did have a claim for compensation.
Employers failed to provide a safe workplace
Thompsons took the view that Mr Linton’s employers had been negligent in failing to provide a safe workplace.
Mr Linton broke his knee while he was unloading rails needed for emergency repairs to the tracks.
While standing on the wagon to unload the rails he slipped and fell backwards off the wagon but his right foot was still caught among the rails and as a result he broke his knee.
Mr Linton was on sick leave for six months.
Although Mr Linton was working on a raised platform there was no side protection, no safety policy and no adequate risk assessment had been undertaken.
Off work for six months due to accident
Mr Linton said: “It was agonising when I broke my knee and I had to take six months off work. I felt it was important to claim compensation because I had missed so much work and it was such a nasty break.”
RMT general secretary Bob Crow added: “Mr Linton was working on a raised platform with no side protection and using a bar as a lever where there would always have been the chance of a slip, loss of control or fall. There ought to have been a sound safety policy in place to reduce or eliminate those risks. Additionally an appropriate risk assessment ought to have been undertaken prior to the accident.
“Members of the RMT are able to use our legal services for free and this case highlights the expertise and experience that those solicitors have.”
Warinder Juss from Thompsons Solicitors said: “When we were instructed to claim compensation for Mr Linton we investigated the matter straight away and then came to the conclusion that his employers had been negligent.
“Thompsons will always work to gain the maximum amount of compensation in the smallest amount of time for all of its clients.”