Our client, Mr M*, approached Farleys’ Personal Injury team after suffering an accident at work.
Background
In 2017, Mr M had been working for a company in the manufacturing of niche plastic products. On the day in question, Mr M was required to work on a new machine cutting specific parts out of the plastic products.
Mr M had never worked on this machine before and had received no training on it either. The machine required two people to operate it. Mr M was fixing the object in place in the cutting machine while his colleague was on standby to activate the machine once Mr M indicated it was ready.
Mr M noticed that the object wasn’t quite fixed into place and so attempted to reposition it while telling his colleague “no” to ensure he didn’t activate the machine. Unfortunately, due to the surrounding noise, Mr M’s colleague did not hear him and activated the cutter.
The cutter had no guard and Mr M’s hand was still in the machine. This resulted in a traumatic amputation of Mr M’s right middle and index fingers. Despite the efforts of medical professionals, the fingers were unable to be reattached due to the damage caused to the nerves.
Several years on from the accident, our client is still experiencing pain and difficulties related to functioning in daily life without the missing fingers.
How Farleys Were Able to Help
Nick Molyneux, Partner and Personal Injury Solicitor at Farleys, took instructions from the client to submit a claim for damages against his employer. He arranged for our client to see experts including a Hand Surgeon, Psychiatrist, and Prosthetist to assess the extent of Mr M’s injuries, both physical and psychological.
Claims were pursued for the injury itself, as well as past loss of earnings and the care Mr M had needed at home whilst recovering from his life changing injuries. Nick also pursued a claim for Mr M for the cost of high-quality prosthetic fingers to improve Mr M’s quality of life, and for future loss of income as a result of Mr M’s disability, aids and equipment in the home and for the cost of employing professionals in the home due to Mr M’s inability to do DIY and decorating at home which he had been very keen on before his accident.
The defendant, Mr M’s employer, admitted liability and following the issue of court proceedings, Farleys’ personal injury team entered negotiations with the Defendant’s representatives and secured a settlement of £250,000 which was accepted by our client. This settlement will also cover any future medical and rehabilitative treatment needed by Mr M in the future.
If you’ve sustained serious injuries in an accident at work that wasn’t your fault, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation. For a free, no obligation assessment of your case, please get in touch with Farleys’ personal injury specialists on 0845 287 0939, contact us by email, or us the online chat below.
*Our client’s name has been anonymised to protect their privacy