Roofer awarded over £11,000 after accident at work

Back and leg injuries

Alan notified his employer, but no accident report was taken. He went back to his hotel, where the mild pain he initially felt quickly became excruciating. A subsequent MRI scan at the hospital revealed that Alan had sciatica in his left leg and a prolapsed disc on the left side of his lower back.

His injury meant he was unable to perform many day-to-day tasks without his wife’s support, such as getting in and out of bed, washing, changing and getting in and out of the car. Alan’s need for care required his wife to take unpaid time off work and, with his slow recovery, this period of care had to be extended.

Alan returned to work after a month but still struggled to perform tasks without discomfort. He still suffers from occasional flare-ups in his back, especially when lifting heavy objects.

Making an accident at work claim

Alan came to us to pursue a claim against the employer, hoping he would receive compensation for the injury and recover lost earnings. In our view, the defendant was in breach of their statutory duty and was guilty of negligence. The defendant made our client perform a task they weren’t employed to do, and they failed to provide Alan with a sufficient health and safety check for the job.

The defendant strongly denied liability. In their view, the accident never happened.

Building the case

Our priority was to prove that the accident at work happened and then build a case for the extent of Alan’s injuries and their impact on his life. The difficulty we faced was that Richard, a key witness on the day of the accident, was uncontactable.

Therefore, we had to rely on medical evidence to prove that Alan’s injuries were consistent with the type of accident he described. The medical expert indicated that the accident brought forward symptoms from a pre-existing condition by three to five years.

Additionally, we obtained a witness statement from Alan’s wife to highlight the impact of the injury on both Alan and herself, particularly the care she had to provide and their loss of earnings.

Despite not having Richard’s witness statement, we felt confident that the medical evidence would be sufficient to support Alan’s account of the accident and injuries.

The claim was issued at court and the defendant failed to file a defence within the timescale we applied to the court to enter judgment, meaning the defendant lost the right to put forward a defence. Further directions were set listing the matter for a disposal hearing, where a judge would determine the amount of compensation to be awarded to Alan. This meant Alan no longer had to concern himself with proving that the defendant had been negligent.

Application to set aside judgment

The defendant applied, albeit significantly delayed, to set aside judgment to the court again stating the accident did not happen and discrediting the medical evidence. Despite this, we believed we had a strong case.

The court’s initial decision was that the defendant had reasonable prospects of defending the claim on the basis that the medical records did not explicitly state that Alan’s injuries arose from the accident. The defendant’s application was granted and the judgment was set aside.

Appeal

Despite this setback, we were confident the court had failed to attach sufficient weight to the delay presented by the defendant when making their application and whether they had a real prospect of defending the claim.

Having dealt with applications of this nature previously, we were confident we would achieve a different outcome in favour of Alan if we appealed the decision. We regrouped and submitted an appeal.

The Appeal Court acknowledged there was insufficient evidence put before the court by the defendant and found the initial judge was wrong about the medical records and didn’t give enough weight to the delays.

Injury at work compensation

The successful appeal meant the defendant was open to negotiating a settlement on the claim to avoid the matter proceeding to a further hearing. We were able to secure an out-of-court settlement of £11,000 for Alan. He was delighted with the outcome and the subsequent swift conclusion of the claim.

Sapna said: “This turned out to be a really challenging case, the occurrence of the accident itself being disputed from the outset, but I was delighted with the outcome. We believed in Alan, and we were determined to fight his corner. The accident wasn’t his fault and he deserved compensation.

“The result of the appeal highlights the importance of applications to set aside judgment to being made promptly and for sufficient evidence to be placed before the court to support any argument.”

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Have you been in an accident that wasn’t your fault? Express Solicitors can get you the justice and compensation you deserve. We have an expert team with the experience to win even the most complex cases. Start your claim with us today.