paschal o'hare personal injury solicitors wide logo
work accident involving lorry County Down

Liam’s Work Accident Settles for £152,000 (County Down)

Liam was involved in a serious work accident when he was employed as an oil delivery driver in County Down. There had been an ongoing fault with the rear suspension of his company vehicle for a period of 6 months after the vehicle had been purchased. Liam had been out on a delivery that day and came back to put a load on. A workmate commented that there was something wrong with the vehicle in that the rear offside wheel was sitting out 2 inches from the mudguard. More specifically, there was something wrong with the suspension.

Liam was expected to use a suspension airbag by remote control to inflate it. He raised the lorry up, which lifted the suspension off the ground. Liam crawled in on his front as the problem was at wheel level. He heard a creaking noise and knew instinctively that he had to get out from under the vehicle. He went to get back out as soon as he could, but still had his upper torso under the lorry when the lorry came down on top of him. Liam somehow managed to wriggle out. It transpired that the airbag had burst.

Liam sustained abrasions to his chin and face, an injury to his neck, chest and back, and his rib cage. His hearing deteriorated as a result of the accident, and he had memory loss and anxiety attacks. 

Liam contacted our work accident solicitors

Due to the seriousness of the injuries, Liam decided to make a personal injury claim. He initially instructed another law firm but, having become dissatisfied with the service he was receiving, he decided to instruct Patrick O’Hare of this office upon recommendation of a formal client of Paschal O’Hare Personal Injury Solicitors.

Upon receipt of the file of papers, we were not entirely satisfied with the medical evidence obtained to date. Accordingly, we decided to obtain our own medical evidence which involved obtaining reports from a Thoracic Surgeon, an ENT Surgeon, a Consultant Psychiatrist, an Orthopaedic Surgeon as well as an Ophthalmic Surgeon. High Court Proceedings were issued and, prior to the case being set down for hearing, negotiations were invited by the Defendant. This resulted in a settlement of £152,000 which Liam was happy with. 

Reach out to our solicitors if you were involved in a work accident in County Down and need legal advice. We’ve been helping people across Northern Ireland for over 50 years. Learn more about our services or contact us today. 

Categories

- Blogs

- Case Studies