Joseph Horsley, from Kilburn, who was wrongly accused by his employer for the tragic death of a colleague in a workplace accident, has been cleared of all blame and compensated fully for his injuries with the help of Unite Legal Services.
Joseph had driven a truck to assist a colleague whose own work vehicle had broken down. He drove past the broken down vehicle and parked the truck as another vehicle had already arrived to assist. When standing alongside his colleague, the truck rolled backwards and crushed him and his colleague.
The accident tragically killed his colleague, and left Joseph with back injuries and severe mental trauma as a result of the incident.
Joseph said: “After the accident I had terrible nightmares and flashbacks about what happened. I continue to suffer psychologically but I can’t imagine the trauma my colleague’s family has suffered following their tragic loss.
“I will never forget the moment when the truck started towards us. I never received any apology from the company for wrongly accusing me for being somehow liable for causing the truck to roll.
“What’s worse is that while I faced false accusations, my colleague paid the ultimate price for the employer’s negligence.”
Unite Legal Services fought his corner to prove that the accident was caused by the employer’s negligence and secured compensation for Joseph’s physical and psychological injuries
Annmarie Kilcline, Unite regional secretary, said: “Where serious injuries and a loss of life are concerned there can be no grey areas. We were committed to defending our member from the false accusations that he was at fault for causing this horrific incident.
“The evidence gathered by Unite Legal Services proved that the accident was caused by vehicle defect. The legal action taken against the employer cleared the member’s name and ensured he was fully compensated.”
