Real case example: compensation for foot injury

This is a real example of a claim which we recently handled for one of our injured clients.

 

The incident

Our client worked as a truck driver. He was self-employed. While completing delivery on site, a heavy skip bin crushed our client’s foot. 

 

Our client required surgery in hospital, and an extensive  period of rehabilitation. 

 

Our client subsequently returned to work but continued to experience pain on the injured foot. 

 

Why our client came to see us

As a self-employed truck driver, our client was uncertain whether he was able to claim personal injury damages arising out of this incident. After all, he was not an employee, and he was not sure if he is able to claim workers’ compensation benefits. 

 

How we helped our client

We conducted detailed investigations into the circumstances of the incident. We determined that the lifting mechanism failed, which resulted in the skip bin dropping on our client’s foot. 

 

This lifting mechanism was not our client’s responsibility. 

 

As such, we identified the company that was responsible for maintaining the lifting mechanism and designing a safe system for lifting those bins, and we commenced compensation proceedings against them. 

 

This claim was made as a public liability claim. 

 

Did the other side accept liability?

When we made the compensation claim, the response we initially received was that this accident was entirely our client’s fault. We were told that the lifting mechanism was safe, that our client failed to follow common sense safe lifting techniques and that we should just go away because we would never recover damages in respect of this incident. 

 

However, we kept up the pressure on the other side and importantly, we exercised our client’s rights to request more and more information from the other side about how the accident occurred. As we did this, after a while we noticed that the company kept giving us inconsistent information. 

 

Ultimately, we were able to obtain sufficient evidence to show that the accident occurred because the lifting mechanism and the recommended method of lifting itself, were unsafe, and neither of this was our client’s responsibility. 

 

Medical evidence

We obtained expert medical opinion from a specialist who has significant experience in foot injuries. 

 

The expert opinion further assisted our client’s case, and increased the value of the compensation amount. 

 

Settlement

Eventually, we were able to reach an out of court settlement with the lawyers of the company involved, and the compensation amount (which is confidential) fairly compensates our client for his losses. 

 

Our client was not required to go to court, he was not required to risk any of his assets, and his legal bill was approximately 20% of the compensation amount. 

 

If you would like to discuss with us your injury claim, please do not hesitate to contact us on 07 3063 2268 or by clicking this link