Work related injury

Whilst at Cemex in Rugby I fell whilst getting out of the cab. The top step of the unit has been defective ( broken ) since before I commenced employment on the 26 th of August this year. It has been previously defected, but no attempt made to have it repaired.

I fell backwards and landed on the concrete floor of the yard. The first aiders came to my assistance and attended to myself until the paramedics arrived.

I was put onto a spinal board and a neck cuff and whisked off to Coventry A&E.

Fortunately after my X-Ray no spinal damage was detected,but soft tissue and muscle trauma.

I’m on a dose of diazepam and codeine.

Obviously I won’t be at work for a while yet. I’m going to make an appointment with my Dr tomorrow and see how to progress further.

A rather traumatic weekend and I’ve just arrived home via train as I didn’t feel comfortable driving a fully freighted artic whilst ‘doped’ up.

Any one had a similar experience?

Any thoughts/advice welcomed. :slight_smile:

I assume you defected it as well and continued to work with it being faulty? Expect it may possibly have an impact on the level of payment made in the event of a claim as personal safety is a shared responsibility.

What boots were you wearing? I ask because Cemex don’t like The Village Peoples’ choice of footwear, the riggerboot.

Muckaway:
What boots were you wearing? I ask because Cemex don’t like The Village Peoples’ choice of footwear, the riggerboot.

Steel toe cap Caterpillar boots.

Conor:
I assume you defected it as well and continued to work with it being faulty? Expect it may possibly have an impact on the level of payment made in the event of a claim as personal safety is a shared responsibility.

We weren’t given the luxury of declining to use the vehicle. It has been photographed at head office and documented.

If it was defected and foreseeable that harm could come to a driver without the chance to change units I would have thought that any form of contributory negligence would fall in a very low percentage. But then again I’m a truck driver and the law is arbitrary.

Produce every bit of evidence you can that the defect was reported and sue the hell out of the company.

mds141:
We weren’t given the luxury of declining to use the vehicle.

You ALWAYS have the ability to decline to use a vehicle which is not fit for purpose as a driver and any company that sacks a driver for refusing to drive a defective vehicle leaves themselves wide open to a day in front of the traffic commissioner.

You ALWAYS have the ability to decline to use a vehicle which is not fit for purpose as a driver and any company that sacks a driver for refusing to drive a defective vehicle leaves themselves wide open to a day in front of the traffic commissioner.

Hmm, ideal world aint it and there are numerous jobs to be had in the industry especially when you start telling your employer your’e going to shop them to the traffic commissioner. Well he has every right to do so now with the possibility of a **ucked back and no money coming in. Expect the fella was just trying to go about earning a few quid to pay his way like the rest of us.

By suing the firm puts jobs at risk with the financial payout.If you were aware the cab step was faulty and it made you slip,part of the blame comes down to you too. Why not have used the first and second step to get in and out of the cab?
I am not having a go at you.But they gave you a job.A lot of firms may not have fixed the step.

Don’t forget the risk of blacklisting if you shop a company. It’s mentioned on here from time to time. Yes it’d be nice to refuse a vehicle but with bills to pay are you sure you can jump straight into another job?
Is the defective truck Cemex owned or franchised? Cemex are hot on h and s and I remember seeing a safety memo about clean undamaged cab steps about 2 years ago.

At the end of the day if it goes to court Cemex or whoever can afford to employ a Queens Counsel to prove that apples are really oranges by another name and, unless you are in a union prepared to fight your case, you can afford to employ …exactly who? You will be almost certainly be unable to claim legal aid since those nice Tories have made life easier for their friends.

I’ll look forward to reading another 4 page memo on this incident next time I’m booking in there. That place is a joke anyway. A tyre “exploded” while being inflated on one of their sites. Now all tyres must be locked in a cage for inflation before being fixed to the vehicle. And I kid you not, a safety bulletin about a driver slipping on ice, said he wouldn’t have fallen had he been wearing lace up boots rather than slip ons :unamused:

Were you working for Cemex or just loading at their site?

They are stupidly over the top with H&S so it’d be interesting to know that they’re happy for you to use a defective vehicle given all the crap everybody has to go through when on site, not just visiting drivers but their own guys as well.

It may sound mad but some firms do a safety course on how to climb in and out of a cab.Then give a bit of paper to say you have attended and passed the course.
There is a ladder course.
Some drivers on Tnuk would have stripped and rebuilt tilts on their own in intense summer heat or icy winters.
Climbing on the trailer roof pulling a ton of sheet back.Putting poles inYou still see tilt trailers.Turkish or Ukrainian and Russian trucks that come to the UK.
It took hours to do it.And not in one go.Have a Coke in the cafe and give it another go.
Loading steel in Portugal,the crane man pulled the sheet back with a hook.Loaded me.Then when done he goes home turning off the lights in the loading bay.Left me alone to rebuild it.
He was off my Christmas card list for life.

And what does a war story about tilts have in common with this thread??

Thunderbird:

You ALWAYS have the ability to decline to use a vehicle which is not fit for purpose as a driver and any company that sacks a driver for refusing to drive a defective vehicle leaves themselves wide open to a day in front of the traffic commissioner.

Hmm, ideal world aint it and there are numerous jobs to be had in the industry especially when you start telling your employer your’e going to shop them to the traffic commissioner. Well he has every right to do so now with the possibility of a **ucked back and no money coming in. Expect the fella was just trying to go about earning a few quid to pay his way like the rest of us.

Depends how you go about it. The OP says that the vehicle was defective since before he was taken on in August so my question would be how many times since then has the vehicle been defected? Repeated defects will build an audit trail and, August to November, I would be surprised if the vehicle hasn’t been serviced in that time so did the fitter sign the vehicle off as fit for use?

Personally I have defected vehicles for the same problem more than once including the previous defect numbers. Depending on the defect I would only get to the second report before refusing to take the truck out, on the latest occasion the drivers seat lumber support/upholstery was displaced and played merry hell with my already damaged back. Radio, night heater (don’t night out) wasn’t a problem as there are other impacts on the operation that cost the company in cash or convenience (traffic hold ups/breaks out of truck).

Suppose the end of all this is where does liability fall when the *hit hits the fan, we could go one, bad weather, minor defects that somehow turn into a major incident. In this instance lets suppose there was a cab check on the Gatehouse, just as an example. Mr Happy falls and breaks his neck. He saw the knackard step but missed his footing and went arse over ■■■. Did he assume a risk because he knew it was there perhaps being told to mind the step in the first instance by the driver? Is there then vicarious liability on the part of the company? Driver and company jointly in the frame only to be put at the insurers and other relevant departments doors. Can Mr Happy then walk away without blame? After all he was told of the defect before entering the cab but just doing his job and chose to ignore.

I agree with some points here but just seems youre dammed either way; you undertake a job perhaps because you need the money, wife, mortgage, three kids, xmas and three Playstaions to pay for soon. So you carry on, nobody wants a moaner, just get on with it types. When you do and the proverbial hits the fan its "oh well, you knew the risks and carried on. By reverse you stamp your feet and say I’m not moving. I will report you, youre potted as soon as the opportunity arises which is in the back of your head before you make the call.

Long and short in instances like this is its the courts decision if it goes that far, usually insurance companies know when they are on a loser or winner. Consequently, they award you what little amount they can get away with dragging their heels in the process or fight it while all the time your bills are rolling in. So in away youre *ucked either way. A knackard back and a few qiud or start scratching with little hope of finding a new employer, a nagging wife and three unhappy kids come Xmas… Oh what a lovely world, I want my water-bottle carrying certificate before I intend on lifting another in a nice warm office, dont think you would get potted in an environment like the Civil Service if you refused. Does it seem fair? No, not IMHO. After all, you’d be on full pay and treated with respect and kid gloves if there was a mishap . Just so happens that this chap chose an industry that doesnt give a *uck about the majority of employees in most instances.

Just my thoughts, and all of you heros out there, beware, all men are mortal, we all bleed therefore, mortal. I’m not Socrates though. Volenti non fit iniuria but that’s another matter.

Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t.
The problem is your injury could become very bad.
I would go see a solicitor with all paperwork and any pictures you have.
Keep a note of all doctors appointments and keep a diary of your pain.

Its good to hear the driver concerned has recovered enough to travel home, it can’t be very pleasant to be stuck in a Hospital miles from home.

Rentadent:
Were you working for Cemex or just loading at their site?

It was a Subbie vehicle collecting bagged products.