People we have helped

Mr H was a warehouse worker.  He did heavy manual-handling work, lifting boxes of produce for 10-hour shifts.  He picked up a broken box of bananas, which fell, dragging his arm and breaking his wrist.  He suffered a complicated fracture and ligament damage and was unable to return to order picking.  His employer found him an alternative non-manual-handling role.

He received £55,000 in compensation.  This included damages for loss of overtime and future prospects and for having a handicap on the open labour market if he ever stopped working for his employer.

Mr K was aged 86 when he was run over by a bus on a zebra crossing.  His mobility was severely effected and he was unable to continue caring for himself.  He also needed adaptations to his home.  He received £20,000 in compensation.

T was aged 6 when he had his accident.  He was attending a party at a farm in Surrey.  The children were invited to climb on bales of hay,  which were supposed to be properly bound together.  He fell between the bales and fractured his leg.  The settlement approved by the court was £7,000.

Ms B had an accident on the highway.  Pedestrians were being told to walk in the road because of tree cutting, even though the road was in the middle of construction.  Ms B fell into a pothole and badly fractured her ankle, which needed an operation.  The council vigorously denied liability, but the final settlement was for £12,000.

A Claims Direct client had just started work for a new company.  At the end of his first week he was made to ride a clown’s bicycle as part of an initiation ceremony in front of his work colleague while they all had a beer.  He initially refused but the managing director practically forced him to do so.  The managing director gave him a big push from behind, which caused him to fall off and sprain his wrist.

Despite the employer initially denying liability – calling the bicycle “sophisticated circus equipment” – the case was eventually settled for £1,500.  

Mr T, an Oxford bricklayer, was helping to move a 50-kilogram lintel when he slipped, twisted and injured his knee.  The employer denied liability saying Mr T should not have assisted and should have sought help form others.  There was no lifting equipment on site and no risk assessment had been carried out.  The case was settled shortly before trial for £12,500.

Ms B, a nursery teacher from Grimsby, was injured in a road traffic accident.  The driver of the vehicle she was in pulled across a dual carriageway and collided with an oncoming car travelling at about 50mph.  She suffered a fractured pelvic bone and was awarded £17,500 in an out-of-court settlement.

Mr D, aged 21 from East Yorkshire was hit on the head by a digger at a farm.  While working as a potato packer he was asked to help install fences.  He was holding the posts while his boss used the digger to knock them in.  The huge bucket swung round and hit him directly in his head.  He was rushed to hospital with blood gushing from the wound.  He received £2,666 in compensation.