Express secures £20,000 for factory worker after previous solicitor drops case

The Accident at Work

Amit was working in a factory when a parked forklift truck, suddenly rolled forward into him. The weight of the truck crushed Amit’s leg, before colleagues stepped into free him. Allegedly his employers refused to call an ambulance, concerned with drawing unwanted attention to the business. Amit was driven and dropped off at A&E by his colleague.

Injuries and Impact

Amit was informed that he had broken both the tibia and fibula in his leg, requiring surgery to insert metal supports. His injury prevented him from working while his leg healed, and he now relied on his family, particularly his wife and daughter, to assist with daily tasks such as washing, dressing, preparing meals and getting to appointments.

Amit was off work for a total of six months, and it took two years for him to fully recover.

Switching Solicitors

The first solicitor Amit approached agreed to take on his case. However, after just a few months, another solicitor within the same firm took over Amit’s case and decided not to continue representing Amit. In his view, Amit’s case wasn’t strong enough.

Amit then approached Express for help. Despite a potential language barrier and the lack of a direct witness to the accident, Stephanie and her team decided to take the claim forward. Notwithstanding the challenges and risk involved, Stephanie believed in Amit’s story and understood the importance of securing compensation to help him and his family move on from the accident.

Defendant Response

The claim was lodged with the employer, who denied any liability in response. They argued that Amit was fundamentally dishonest and that his account should not be accepted as truthful. Their narrative implied that Amit, despite not having a licence or any formal training and having previously received a verbal warning, operated the forklift himself on the day of the accident. They suggested that his failure to apply the handbrake when parking may have ultimately caused the accident.

His employer also pointed out the absence of a witness to support Amit’s allegations and questioned why he didn’t blame anyone else or accuse his employer of any wrongdoing immediately after the accident.

Heading to Trial

With no agreement on liability, the case looked like it was heading for trial. The team consulted medical experts to review Amit’s injuries and support his version of events. Statements from his wife and son were obtained to gain an insight into the impact the accident, not only on Amit, but also on the family, with his wife reducing her working hours to care for him and his daughter putting her studies on hold to do the same.

Settlement

The work we had done to bring evidence forward led to the defendant to reach out to us with an offer for Amit to settle the claim. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to support Amit and his family through the legal process they didn’t feel that they could stand up in court and provide evidence under the circumstances.

Following our advice, believing that going to court would not be in his best interest, Amit accepted a settlement offer of £20,000.

Stephanie added:

“I am extremely proud of our team for all their hard work. It wasn’t easy at times, given the language barrier and a difficult defendant, but we persevered and achieved a positive outcome. The previous solicitor’s decision to walk away illustrates that this was not a straightforward case.

I am delighted Amit and his family can now put the accident behind them, with the compensation they deserve and can now move on with their lives.”