Nick was a self-employed contractor working on a building site in County Down. He was working for a company who were being subcontracted to fit some garage doors. Nick was using a ladder that was on the scaffolding when it slipped due to the presence of a build up of material on the floor from the main contractor polishing it.
He was taken to the Ulster Hospital where it was determined that he had suffered a fracture of his L1 vertabrae and he was fitted with a back brace and referred to the fracture clinic in Musgrave Park Hospital.
Nick reached out to our Work Accident Solicitors
Nick contacted Paschal O’Hare after reading one of our past work accident case studies. Our solicitors acted quickly, originally directed a letter of claim to the main contractors who had erected the scaffolding that the ladder was placed on and were polishing the floor around it. They argued that the subcontractor who Nick was doing work for was responsible as they would have been responsible for his training and provision of suitable equipment.
Our solicitors directed a letter of claim then to the subcontractors who tried to argue that the main contractor should have had a ladder in place to use with the scaffolding and that our client was experienced and should have known to tether the ladder to the scaffolding before using it.
We had Nick medically examined by a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who stated that he should have a good level of improvement by 16-19 months post-accident but he may have some minor lower back pain and stiffness present in the longer term which may interfere with heavy lifting and bending. We then sent bullock letters to each of the companies stating that our solicitors would issue proceedings against them both if one of them did not admit responsibility for the accident.
The subcontractor’s insurers then agreed to deal with the claim on a without prejudice basis. They offered a figure of £11,900 stating that our client’s damages should be reduced by 30% due to him being in their opinion partially at fault for the accident. Eventually, we negotiated a figure of £28,000 which Nick was happy with.
If you were involved in a work accident and require legal assistance, learn more about our services or contact our solicitors directly on 0800 020 9311.
