Formula 1 engineer injured at work wins payout after racetrack fall

Making an injury at work claim

James sought the help of Express Solicitors and provided initial statements and evidence. The key was whether Formula 1 had failed to provide a safe working environment. Aware the track was dated, should they have made changes or reasonable adjustments to ensure safety?

The lack of a thorough risk assessment suggests they failed to properly inspect the racetrack to ensure engineer safety. If they had, the defective tyre wall would have been flagged. James in his witness statement explained they were not warned that the tyres were not stable. If he had been advised, he would have avoided the wall and searched for an alternative way to collect the cables. Additionally, they were not provided with any equipment that would have helped James reach the cables, rather than having to climb over a worn-down tyre wall.

F1 response to the injury at work claim

Formula 1 denied liability, stating he was hired to work as an independent contractor under the claimant’s own company. They denied throughout the case the existence of an employer-employee relationship between the defendant and the claimant.

They also alleged that they had specifically told James not to climb the tyre wall – something our client disputed.

Despite denying liability, they still put forward a part 36 offer of £12,000 to settle the case. As our client hadn’t yet been reviewed by the medical experts, we advised him that he could walk away with a higher claim if the medical report was in his favour, so he rejected this offer.

Building a case

The experts we used to ascertain the long-term impact of James’s injury found that he was still suffering years after the fall and recommended intense physio to help repair his shoulder. In the expert’s view, James would eventually make a full recovery, but this would be most likely in 2024, four years after the accident.

In addition to this, we found evidence that supported our position that James did indeed have an employer-employee relationship with F1, which included paid invoices. We also had evidence that established he was given instructions on what to do that day, with no mention of the risk posed by the tyre wall. This was enough to establish the employer-employee relationship and prove that they owed him a duty of care.

Settlement

Neil Sagar explained: “At this stage, we had gathered enough medical evidence to establish the impact of James’s arm injury on his quality of life and his career. As it had now been established that our client and Formula 1 had an employer-employee relationship, we felt we were in a strong position to present our case to the courts.

“Following James’s instructions, we presented our evidence to the court and a package of just over £17,000 was awarded to our client. This was a fantastic outcome as we secured James the money he lost while off work, as well as enough to help support his recovery. We are delighted to have helped James achieve a positive resolution to allow him to move on from an incident that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

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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.