Settlement for Facial Injury from Defective Work EquipmentOut of court settlement agreed for lorry driver
Gary Baldwin* worked as an agency lorry driver. On the day of the accident he was driving a curtain sided lorry. As he was securing the load, he was struck in the face by a metal post on the back of the trailer. The accident happened because the post had a spring on it which caused the post to spring up and hit Gary in the face. This should not have happened. There should have been a catch which would prevent the post from springing forward, but the catch was broken and did not work properly.
Gary instructed Levenes on a no win no fee basis. The basis of the claim was that the broken catch formed part of the Work Equipment which Gary needed to use to do his job. It was defecitve and a claim was made under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. It was not necessary to prove that the employers knew that the catch was defective. As long as the work equipment is defective the employers are liable for breach of the regulations. They admitted liability, although they alleged that Gary was partly to blame for not checking that the catch was working properly.
Gary suffered a cut to his forehead. Luckily it was not too serious. The cut healed well with only a barely visible scar.
Gary accepted an out of court offer to settle his claim for £1,600. He received his settlement in addition to his legal costs which were also paid by the insurers of the owener of the lorry.
*name changed to protect confidentiality. | 
