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Jonathan’s accident at work settles for £50,000 (Belfast)

Jonathan was working as an electrician in a Belfast library alongside a colleague. He was up a ladder in order to repair a wall light when the ladder collapsed from under him. He fell to the floor where he felt extreme pain in his wrist upon landing. Jonathan was quickly taken to hospital by his colleague and was soon diagnosed with a fractured wrist.

As time went on following the incident, Jonathan’s wrist did not heal as it should have. Subsequent examinations were done, including an exploratory operation. It was finally discovered that there was several other broken bones in his wrist that were not diagnosed. He required further surgery that might have been avoidable had the full extent of the injury be determined from the outset.

Jonathan decided to pursue a claim

Jonathan contacted our firm with a view to claim for compensation. We had him examined by an orthopaedic surgeon who provided us with medical evidence pertaining to the injuries. We sent a letter of claim to Jonathan’s employer who denied liability on the basis that he should have conducted a ladder inspection prior to working on them. However, Jonathan was never trained how to do a ladder inspection and pointed out that he wouldn’t know what he was looking for if he attempted one. As it turns out, many faults with ladders are not identifiable with the naked-eye.

We pressed on with the claim, and the employer invited us to settlement negotiations. After a brief negotiation, we settled the claim for the sum of £50,000 in compensation.


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What the NHS says about Jonathan’s injuries

Fractured wrist

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