A self-employed contractor recently won £28,000 personal injury compensation after falling from a scaffolding platform he was not trained to work on.
The 66-year-old victim from Dagenham had not received any training on working at height. Whilst he was stretching across the scaffolding platform to measure a wall, the platform, which had not been secured properly, collapsed.
The man suffered a fractured hip and tibia and damaged spinal vertebrae. He underwent surgery on his hip and leg and was unable to bear his weight for six months after the operation. It took 18 months before he could walk again properly.
At the time of the accident, the victim was 64 and under the impression that SGB Weldings would continue to use his services after he passed retirement age. However, the company told him he was no longer required.
He was a member of the GMB trade union and turned to them for advice after the accident. The union instructed a firm of personal injury solicitors to look into a personal injury at work claim.
The lawyers argued that the platform was not secured properly and SGB Weldings should not ask people to work at heights if they had not received proper training. The company accepted liability for the incident and the victim was given an out of court settlement worth more than £28,000.