On the 5th this month my route sent me to deliver a 3t breaker for a digger item weighs just over half a tonne, took a while for people on site to figure out how to get off truck as digger was obstructed by a half full skip, next deliverer a 3 tonne skylift or sizzor lift with tripple ladder and ac power unit and lead, then go pick up a 2 tonne dumper from walton-on-themes, renter didnt leave key so on to next collection a 1 tonne kobota digger from waybridge… where my accident happened
Under presurse from those that drive desks to get this digger, I went ahead, normally the person whom hires it has to have it ready at its drop off point for me the driver to collect, unfortunatly this was in a building where they had dug 2 feet down below the normal doorway. the exit had the old entrance shop glass which was smashed and likely to shatter, I managged to get digger into the doorway moving the tracks in the spade which is the front and the digger arm 180 degrees ie at the back to level and drive the digger threw the doorway, unfortunatly i did this at a safe distance or i thought from the digger not on it because of the glass above. as it leveled up it tilted my direction and crushed my right wrist breaking 2 bones. Im now in a cast, under insurance law cant drive.
Company say i only get stataury sick pay as I was not on digger, the 1t digger tipps very very easy, wasnt safe to be on it. where do I stand in law and compo?
was at work, still love job, need to point out nobody has had formal traing for any of the plant machinery we deliver or collect they hire on having the old grandfather licince
Chunkzilla:
I have to ask,
If you couldn’t operate the machine safely from seated position, why the [zb] didn’t you use your brain and refuse to do it!
maybe but the over hanging glass was a worry as the digger squeezed threw the gap between a wall and the metal doorframe, thats where my hand got snapped right back, broke the 2 wrist bones, after i got digger on my 7.5t truck, and reported incedent they still made me drive lorry back
is new job and transport manager is a bellend putting presure on me, other drivers told me when i got back too tell him to f off
Chunkzilla:
I have to ask,
If you couldn’t operate the machine safely from seated position, why the [zb] didn’t you use your brain and refuse to do it!
maybe but the over hanging glass was a worry as the digger squeezed threw the gap between a wall and the metal doorframe, thats where my hand got snapped right back, broke the 2 wrist bones, after i got digger on my 7.5t truck, and reported incedent they still made me drive lorry back
is new job and transport manager is a bellend putting presure on me, other drivers told me when i got back too tell him to f off
Sounds like a great job…
No job is worth injuring yourself. No amount of pressure is going to get me to take undue risks.
I’m afraid I don’t know what to advise you to do. But it doesn’t sound reasonable that you’re out of pocket
mac12:
I carnt see how you can have any claim when it’s you who has done everthing wrong.
Not sure I have though if i’ve not been fully trained, I joined the company im with now from HSS Hire and we need cerification for everthing. I got counterbalance and combi-lift c4000 and the IPAF licence.
this new company the yard guy whom seems the most experianced told me its safer to walk on and walk off the 0.8 and 1 tonne diggers.
mac12:
You said you wasnt sat in it. you shouldn’t need training to no that
yeah I know wat you saying but risk assesment on site, saftey barrier had to come down to get threw doorway, so if i was on it and it tipped id be having wourse injurys or dead…
this is the question really I should have said to customer you get it out and driven away making unhappy customer whom now has to pay another £300 and anoying transport manager that looks like sonic the hedgehog and is a t wat… was a very hot day, im welsh cold blooded wasnt thinking. just wanted day to be over driving my mobile greenhouse.
But i tried to please boss, got it wrong where do i as the driver stand?
If you were a judge hearing this case of a driver who has done everything wrong would you pay him, your firm will have a legal team there to make you look stupid. You removed barriers went in a building to get it then never used the seat did you do anything correct
Your 1st post mentioned that you’d got just about every qualification going for operating plant so I don’t see how you can claim that you haven’t been trained. I don’t know how you managed it but if you did, then trying to operate a machine while not actually at the controls seems the height of scarcely believable stupidity. I’m sorry if you hurt yourself, but maybe you’ll learn from your mistake.
mac12:
You said you wasnt sat in it. you shouldn’t need training to no that
yeah I know wat you saying but risk assesment on site, saftey barrier had to come down to get threw doorway, so if i was on it and it tipped id be having wourse injurys or dead…
but then surely common sense should have kicked in and you should not have picked it up,like your previous collection
mac12:
If you were a judge hearing this case of a driver who has done everything wrong would you pay him, your firm will have a legal team there to make you look stupid. You removed barriers went in a building to get it then never used the seat did you do anything correct
No, I waited 1 and a half hours for the contractor to get to site as it was clossed he was clueless on driving it out, was smashing wall he needed up with bucket, saved me by pushing digger away from my trapped arm too.
you ever tryed wipping your arse with your left hand… its hard
From what you’ve said mate,shouldn’t have been moving machine with roll cage down,no way is bloke correct saying it’s ok to move machine without being sat on seat,seatbelt on,company’s love the ‘trained,authorised,competant’ get out,hence the proliferation of ‘tickets’ these days,if you haven’t been trained,their in the wrong,to start with,but…by going ahead n moving it,seems to me it all comes down on you being in the wrong?
Similar thing happened to me 2 years ago, I broke my ankle and leg, had 6 months off and an operation that has left me with pins in my ankle and metal plates in my leg. I never received a penny and I got the blame with the threat of a disciplinary when I returned to work. Accidents at work seldom get compensation unless you followed every company procedure to the letter which once again is seldom possible. It seems unfair but your better off stubbing your toe on a raised paver in the street. Most companies will have accident claims sewn up with company policy, method statements, company procedures etc. Break one of those or act out of your own initiative and you have not got a leg to stand on.
