Lad just had to have keyhole surgery on his knee at age 20 because of what his last employer expected him to do without lifting gear because it was broken and they wouldn’t fix it and being young as well as in a seasonal job hoping to get kept on over the closed season he didn’t feel he could or know he could tell them to ■■■■ off. Injury occurred when doing this particular task when at work and he had to take 2 weeks off so its not something he did playing footie.
which ever one you use it could take a long while before you get any kind of payment do not accept the first offer ,and think about the repercussions for your lad in say 20 plus years time ring a few and see what they have to say rapid solicitors , etc etc plenty to choose from .has your lad any written evidence that machinery was broken and they wouldn’t fix it …that would go a long way good luck in what ever the outcome is
supermatt:
I haven’t got much to add apart from dont go to one of these referers/brokers as we know who theyre really interested in.
What did he do to mash his knee; was the company he was working for a big outfit?
Was working in maintenance team for a well known national holiday park. Was expected to hump 150 or more of the tall 47kg calor gas bottles once a week over the whole of the site on his own to change them as needed with no lifting gear because it was broken and they refused to fix it despite being constantly asked. So although there was a small trailer to move them around the site, the equipment to put them on the trailer, lift them off and move them over to the caravan was broken. 47kg is well above H&SE limits for a single person for unassisted lifting and it was when doing this his knee went. Then there was the refusal to provide knee pads when he was spending a large part of the working week on his knees doing repairs. Basically the managers didn’t give a toss.
I know there’s plenty of them advertising but I’m just trying to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
supermatt:
I haven’t got much to add apart from dont go to one of these referers/brokers as we know who theyre really interested in.
What did he do to mash his knee; was the company he was working for a big outfit?
Was expected to hump 150 or more of the tall 47kg calor gas bottles … 47kg is well above H&SE limits for a single person for unassisted lifting.
Conor,
Maybe you’ve made an incorrect assumption, but…
FYI, a Calor Gas “47” weighs approximately 94kg comprised of 47ish kg for the empty cylinder and 47ish kg for the gas inside (when it’s full.)
If matey was asked to lift a full “47,” the claim might now look a bit more like a slam-dunk, because an employer asking a person to lift a full “47” these days is really asking for trouble.
Like many I get loads of these e mail texting and even calling!one day one rang me and said its about the accident you had Nope I thought but haha I replied it wasnt me it was my 2 year old son me and his mummy are devestated he was doing so well etc etc took me to near depression well I had the guy on 10 minutes evading all his questions with round the houses responses devestaing emotionally awful blah blah In the end the guy said what exactly was the accident I replied unfortunetly albeit he is only 2 he had wet the bed The line went dead
Conor,a mate of mine used National Accident Helpline 08008044713 after suffering an accident that wasn’t his fault,said he couldn’t fault them.
Hope this helps.
Can you prove all you have put on here, if you can why go no win no fee you will get your costs back, has he got legal cover on any insurance because that will pay any solicitors costs
From my own experience, following an injury at work , witnesses etc etc , , employer was the person that caused my injuries although employer denied it happened even when confronted with video and witness statements. I looked at the no win no fee route and then went to a proper solicitor who used a specialist person. The no win guy was full of deffo win and were all rich guff, the solicitor went through all the scenarios that could occur and gave me a time scale of at least 2 ~3 years. No win guy was speaking like its almost instant .
I went with the solicitor and took out an insurance to cover fees in the event of a no win £100 if I recall. If I won then all the award came to me the costs awarded to the solicitor .
3 years later after medicals from both side ( both concurred with each other ) and loads of letter back and forwards ,employer still maintained that it never happened although his insurance company wanted to settle in view of all the evidence .
A court date was set 2 months away ,each and every week we got “final” settlement offers, each one looking better and better , I almost took the 4th one but solicitor said stay firm.
On the morning of the hearing , I arrived at court and thought here we go , all the witnesses turned up and a BFO tv screen was set up, my case was called , I honestly thought we would have had an offer before we went in.
The legal guy employed by my solicitor had a chat with me about a couple of details and started what he called his preamble to outline the claim. when he finished the other side said they were unable to contest and wished to make a settlement, talk about leaving it to the last moment.
I think that the no win no fee want a fast buck whereas the solicitor was more interested and into the detail , if it all happened again its the solicitor for me .
Just one thing I am an old man now, but with this young lad the future and the possible consequences of his injury must be considered and factored in to the claim
try a company called Russell worth,i was put In touch with them through the national accident helpline,mines ongoing at the moment,they seem to know what they are doing
supermatt:
I haven’t got much to add apart from dont go to one of these referers/brokers as we know who theyre really interested in.
What did he do to mash his knee; was the company he was working for a big outfit?
Was working in maintenance team for a well known national holiday park. Was expected to hump 150 or more of the tall 47kg calor gas bottles once a week over the whole of the site on his own to change them as needed with no lifting gear because it was broken and they refused to fix it despite being constantly asked. So although there was a small trailer to move them around the site, the equipment to put them on the trailer, lift them off and move them over to the caravan was broken. 47kg is well above H&SE limits for a single person for unassisted lifting and it was when doing this his knee went. Then there was the refusal to provide knee pads when he was spending a large part of the working week on his knees doing repairs. Basically the managers didn’t give a toss.
I know there’s plenty of them advertising but I’m just trying to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
Youve gotta ask the the lad.
Did he have any manual handling training (requirement by law).
Any risk assessments surrounding the handling of these gas cylinders.
The maximum manual lift is 25kg which a gas cylinder is way over so would need some sort of lifting equipment, which you say they didnt supply/ defective.
I would push the fact that your lad is young and was under the impression that if he made a fuss he would be let go and management weren’t interested in sorting defective equipment.
Depending on what sort of compo your lads after i would get a solicitor to write a letter to put the ■■■■■ up em, you may get a settlement to make it go away, especially if their own investigation throws up some oversights.
FYI, a Calor Gas “47” weighs approximately 94kg comprised of 47ish kg for the empty cylinder and 47ish kg for the gas inside (when it’s full.)
If matey was asked to lift a full “47,” the claim might now look a bit more like a slam-dunk, because an employer asking a person to lift a full “47” these days is really asking for trouble.
Jesus. Yeah I have made an incorrect assumption. They were Calor Gas 47s. He had to lift them on his own onto the trailer, off the trailer, roll them to the caravan and then lift them into where they sat at the caravan so each bottle was lifted 3 times. So 150 bottles a day is potentially 450 lifts of 94kg on his own manually and accompanied by 300 lifts of roughly 50kg for the empties. No wonder his bloody knee went. I’ll make sure he points that out. A bit of digging and he had no manual handling training or an induction so I think he’s got them bang to rights.
Apparently because they’ve effectively cut out one of the “shock absorbers” in his knee he stands a chance of arthritis later on.
