£130,000.00 settlement following forklift accident

Our client was working in a yogurt factory. The accident occurred when she was on her way to the canteen to have lunch. She was walking along a designated route when a fellow employee in his forklift loaded fully with barrels reversed onto the designated area and whilst doing so, the forklift caught our client’s foot. As a result, our client suffered a traumatic amputation of 4 toes.

Employers Liability for Forklift Truck Accidents

In some cases, the employer is to blame and in other cases an employee driving the forklift truck is to blame but in either case, the employer is legally liable, however the accident occurred.

Employers have a duty to provide a safe system of work, training, safe equipment, and competent fellow employees.

When a forklift truck accident is caused by the driver of the forklift truck, the employer is vicariously liable for the negligence of the driver.

Contributory negligence

The Defendant’s insurer admitted primary liability however they argued that our client has contributed to the accident by failing to exercise due care and attention when stepping out into the path of the forklift truck.

They argued that the forklift driver was reversing slowly and was projecting a blue laser light onto the ground in the direction of travel and there was an audible bleeping alarm sounding on the forklift to warn others.

Following receipt of the CCTV camera which captured the accident, it was seen that our client was speaking to a co-worker and stepped out into the path of the forklift and was seen looking in the opposite direction before being struck by the forklift. They argued that our client was therefore partly to blame and offered to agree liability on a 75%/25% basis.

Our views on the CCTV footage were that there was no change of colour of the floor to alert our client to the fact that this was an area where there could be trucks. We also noted on the CCTV that someone else was walking in the area before our client’s accident who did not look. This suggested that the company had not done enough to make sure that workers knew that this was an area where trucks may be.

We advised our client that if the court concluded that she knew or ought to have known to expect a truck in that area, then the court will find her partly to blame, but if the court finds that she did not know or expect that a truck could come this way, then she would not be found to blame.

Therefore, there was some risk for our client of being found to be partly to blame and our advice was to consider offers to settle on a 90%/10% contributory basis.

Offers of settlement

We were making enquiries about the range of solutions for our client’s lost toes, in particular to see what prosthetics might be best and orthotics to see if she can wear a wider range of shoes. We needed a range of expert reports and assessments for rehabilitation and psychological therapy.

The Defendant’s insurer put forward an offer of settlement for £100,000.00 but further negotiations led to a settlement of £130,000.00. It was of course our client’s right to accept the offer but our advice was to reject it and recover more, but the client wanted to settle and was aware that once the claim is settled then that is the end of the case and she cannot ask for more money later.

We will fight to get you the best result

It may be tempting to take an offer to see a quick end to the case, but that is risky and very often the Claimant can do much better.

We will help you to make your decision on any offer that is made, including the pros and cons of accepting or rejecting an offer, using our experience and expertise to advise you on how best to ensure that you get the compensation that you deserve.

At Levenes our personal injury lawyers have more than 100 years combined legal experience making us the perfect team to handle your settlement negotiations and we will fight to get you the best result. Equally, if you are happy with the settlement on offer, we will not push you to delay your case by rejecting an offer, if you feel that you want to accept an offer.

There are some firms who are only interested in getting a quick settlement so that they can get paid and close your file. At Levenes, you case will be handled by someone with experience, expertise and who has your best interests at heart.

Accident at work

Our specialist lawyers can help victims involved in an accident recover compensation. You will need expert advice on what action you can take to obtain accident compensation. You can trust in the experience and knowledge of our team of professional injury lawyers to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of compensation that you are entitled to.

Get in touch today and find out within 1 hour if you have a claim. Call us on 0800 048 2355 or request a call back now.