A Unite member working as a drayman was injured while carrying out a delivery of 11 gallon kegs to a public house.
On the day of the accident, the member had telephoned the depot of his employer to complain that the lorry he was driving had been badly loaded, but was told to continue and that no assistance could be offered to him. Due to the loading errors and the fact that parts of the board were broken, the kegs fell out of the lorry as the member attempted to hold on to them, causing him to suffer a broken wrist.
The member spent six weeks with his wrist in plaster, unable to work, followed by a course of physiotherapy.
He contacted Unite Legal Services for advice on claiming compensation from his employer for his accident.
Unite Legal Services represented him throughout a lengthy legal process, as it took some time to convince his employer to admit responsibility for the accident.
The claim was eventually brought to a successful conclusion by Unite Legal Services shortly before the date of the trial. Unite Legal Services secured significant compensation on its member’s behalf for his injuries.
Peter Kavanagh said: “To ignore a worker’s complaint about faulty equipment really is an accident waiting to happen.
“Employers have a basic duty to provide their staff with appropriate protection, equipment and a safe working environment. Astonishingly, this particular company failed to do this despite the concerns raised by our member.”
