Levenes recovered high compensation for a construction worker

Levenes succeeded in recovering high compensation for a construction worker, who suffered a very serious injury to his knee in an accident at work.

The Claimant who was a self-employed bricklayer and plasterer, worked as a general builder/labourer at a construction site. He was working for a Polish construction company (1st Defendant), who had some arrangement with another project-managing company (2nd Defendant), which paid his wages. 

The Claimant’s wages were paid directly into his bank account by the 2nd Defendant. He worked at all times with building materials and equipment supplied to him by the 1st Defendant. He had worked for approximately 1 year on this basis when the accident occurred.

On the morning of the accident, the Claimant received verbal instructions from the director of the 1st Defendant to assist with his colleagues with a delivery of steel which was arriving later that morning at the site.

Assisting in such a delivery was outside the Claimant’s ordinary duties and experience. He had previously been asked to help deliver sacks of building materials but never anything so large as steel beams.

When the delivery lorry arrived, he was summoned to help unloading a steel beam shaped like a letter H and the sides were some 4.5 metres long. The weight of the beam was 243kg. At this moment, the Claimant was informed that the steel would be delivered manually, with no crane being used to deliver the steel. On previous occasions, steel had been delivered off trailers by crane.

The delivery driver was trying to slide the beam down the trailer to the floor. The Claimant was asked to stand on the pavement and receive the end of the beam. As the beam was being pushed off the trailer, the beam was too heavy for the Claimant to hold and it fell, striking him on his right leg close to his knee and causing him a very serious injury to his leg and knee as a result.

Settlement reached after Defendants blamed each other

Levenes pursued a claim against both the Defendants, who denied any responsibility for the accident and blamed each other and also alleging that the Claimant contributed to the accident by pulling the beam.

It often happens when there is a chain of contractors involved in a building project that one blames another. In such cases a claimant has no choice but to jointly pursue all the parties.

When Levenes commenced court proceedings, in Defence to the claim, the Defendant companies joined forces and blamed the company delivering steel to the site for the accident on the basis that they had breached the terms of contract for delivery in refusing to operate the crane and instructing the Claimant and his colleagues to unload the steel beam manually. They applied to the Court to add the delivery company to the proceedings.

Accident at Work Solicitors

The matter was therefore complicated as the involved multiple parties were unable to resolve the dispute between themselves and decide who would bear responsibility and compensate the Claimant.

Levenes instructed a very good orthopaedic expert who prepared a report giving recommendations for treatment.

Eventually, the Defendants liaised and agreed to negotiate, in order to reduce the legal costs of the ongoing litigation.

A Joint Settlement Meeting was arranged so the parties could negotiate. At the meeting, the Claimant received a good offer of settlement and the claim concluded.

The Claimant has received an out of court settlement, which will enable him to arrange surgery for his knee on a private basis. The settlement will also compensate for his future loss of earnings, medical and travel expenses and the care and assistance that he received from his family. The compensation that he received includes a component compensating him for the disadvantage on the open labour market, as his injury reduces his opportunities on the job market.

Joanna Mackiewicz, solicitor, and Ricky Baba, partner, of Levenes represented the Claimant in this matter.

Accident at Work Compensation Claims

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