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An HGV driver who broke his wrist when he title="Slips, Trips and Falls at Work Claims">fell 12ft after using a faulty piece of equipment has received compensation after help from his trade union.
The Unite the union member from Oldbury was getting an HGV trailer ready as part of his job as a driver for parcel delivery firm Geopost.
As he was pulling the trailer’s shutter door shut the strap broke and he fell 12ft onto a metal gantry.
He broke his right wrist and suffered a bad cut to his forehead which has left an inch long scar.
He was forced to take nine weeks off work whilst his wrist healed. He has now returned to work and although his wrist is better he must live with the scar on his forehead the rest of his life.
Thompsons Solicitors made personal injury claim
The driver had worked for the firm for eight years and had never had an accident before.
He contacted Unite for advice and the trade union instructed its lawyers Thompsons Solicitors to pursue a claim for compensation.
Thompsons argued that Geopost should have made sure that the trailers were regularly inspected and maintained.
Geopost admitted liability and settled the claim out of court for £6,500.
The lorry driver said: “It was a real shock when the strap broke. The next thing I knew was I was in agony on the gantry. If the fault with the strap had been spotted and replaced during a vehicle inspection I would never have had to miss nine weeks of work.”
Peter Clewes from Unite said: “Lorry drivers need to trust that their vehicles and trailers are fully inspected to ensure they are fit for use. This trailer had a fault and it should have been removed until it was fixed. We will be reminding the employers about their need to change practices to make sure problems like this are spotted quickly.”
Yvonne Peel from Thompsons Solicitors in Birmingham said: “We are often instructed to pursue compensation on faulty work equipment cases and all too often the accident is caused by a problem which could easily have been fixed cheaply and quickly. In this case, like many others, the victim has ended up with a painful injury.”