Industrial Accident & Injury Cases

Carrs win shop worker’s slip at work case after it had been dropped by Union Solicitors on advice from Counsel

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

We recently settled a case for a shop worker in the West Country who had to carry trays from a supermarket barbecue display to a kitchen without being provided with a receptacle to prevent grease falling to the floor.

Our client slipped sustaining injury requiring time off and incurred a loss of earnings. The employer refused to pay company sick pay and said that our client could not prove the exact cause of the slip. The previous Solicitors appointed by our client’s Trade Union and their Counsel, advised against continuing with the compensation claim.

On taking over the claim we were impressed by our Client's honesty and reasonableness and were able to persuade the Defendant Solicitors to enter into negotiations where our predecesors had failed.

Claimant's do not have to prove their case to a high degree of certainty. The applicable standard of proof required in relation to the allegations that the employer had breached Regulation 12 of the Workplace Regulations and it's comon law duty of care was on a 'balance of probabilities.'

Carrs Solicitors able to achieve an amicable settlement with the employer wthout serving court procedings.

Contact Carrs Solicitors or call us on 01204 496898 if you want to make an injury at work claim, you can get professional legal advice from our accident at work solicitors in Bolton.

Carrs Solicitors settle asbestos compensation claim

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Carrs Solicitors recently settled a claim on behalf of the Estate of a late individual who worked for a company that had caused significant asbestos exposure to its staff over many years up to and including the early 1970s.

We were instructed in this case after the gentleman in question had passed away and we acted for his Personal Representative on behalf of his Estate.

This raised difficulties with regards to securing evidence as to the work done and the level of exposure. The parts of the site at which the work took place had to be ascertained partly through the family and partly through information contained in records.

Although the exposure took place a considerable number of years ago we were able to trace the successor company to the negligent employer and secure medical evidence, commence Court proceedings and ultimately secure a negotiated settlement of compensation on our client’s behalf.

Contact Carrs Solicitors

If you or a family member has developed an asbestos related illness due to exposure at work you could be entitled to claim compensation from your employer. To find out how contact Carrs today by calling 01204 496898.

Carrs Solicitors recover damages for a worker injured due a lack of risk assessment training

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Carrs Solicitors have recovered compensation on behalf of a Warrant Officer/Meter Reader who was required to visit numerous customers and enter premises that were in a particularly hazardous condition.

Our client worked to strict targets and was paid on a commission basis. Although the employer could not have influenced the condition of the premises or necessarily have knowledge of their condition, this in our view placed greater emphasis upon the employers’ legal responsibility to provide adequate training. The employer should ensure that lone or unsupervised workers are given at least basic training in risk assessment, are made aware of a safe system of working and that they are not expected to take risks to their health and safety that cannot be adequately assessed.

This can be a difficult balance to achieve but where lone workers are under pressure to meet targets, it is important that employees are given at least a basic understanding of the principals of risk assessment and of the importance of putting safety first.

In this case the employer had completely failed to provide training and was held accountable for the injury and loss sustained by our client as a result.

A previous more generalised personal injury firm had reviewed the case, taken Counsel’s opinion but subsequently rejected it. We were delighted to be able to assist the client in securing redress after serving Court proceedings and achieving a negotiated settlement with the Defendant’s legal representatives.

Contact Us

If you believe your employer did not provide you with adequate training and you have been injured as a result, you could be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries. Contact Carrs today by calling 01204 496898.

Carrs Solicitors wins asbestosis claim

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

We recently acted on behalf of a former fitter’s assistant who developed asbestosis as a result of exposure to asbestos in the early 1970s whilst working on a contract at Charing Cross Hospital.

Expert evidence was obtained from a consultant respiratory surgeon and the defendant instructed their own expert who disputed that the claimant’s condition had been caused or contributed to by his asbestos exposure. Our client also claimed that he had suffered a loss of self-employed earnings due to his condition.

We were able to successfully negotiate a settlement of this claim during the late stages of litigation.

Contact Us

Contact the specialist asbestosis disease solicitors at Carrs to make a compensation claim. Call 01204 496898 today or fill our online contact form.

Carrs Solicitors wins mesothelioma case

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

We have recently acted for a former power station worker who, after being exposed to asbestos in the 1960s, developed mesothelioma. The condition was diagnosed in 2012.

We assisted our client in securing a lump sum payment under the Pneumoconiosis Workman’s Compensation Act. An interim payment was initially secured and a final six figure settlement recovered within six months of intimating the claim to the insurers.

Enquiries had to be made at the outset to establish the legal successors to the former employer which was now no longer in existence, and to prove the dates during which the client was exposed to asbestos.

Because asbestos was still used extensively throughout the 1960s and 1970s and this condition can commonly have a latency period of forty years, the number of cases for workers contracting this condition is not expected to peak until later in this decade.

Contact Us

If you have developed mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure whilst working for an employer in England and Wales (regardless of where you now live) you may be able to claim compensation. Call 01204 496898 or email us so we can provide you with an assessment of your case.

Carrs Solicitors win case for Rochdale delivery driver with ruptured bicep

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Our client, a professional heavy goods vehicle driver, sustained a ruptured bicep whilst manually handling an excessive load in the course of a delivery. He reported the incident to his employers and subsequently sought treatment from his local hospital.

Liability for his injury was denied and the employer sought to blame the claimant’s injury on an alleged incident that had actually occurred six days later. Despite the fact that the claimant’s injury had been noted by the hospital prior to the subsequent event, the insurers and their solicitors continued to argue that the ruptured bicep had been caused by the later incident.

Court proceedings were commenced and shortly before the trial date, the insurers decided to enter into negotiations. The claim was settled in our client’s favour for a significant sum.

Contact Us

If you have been injured after lifting or carrying large or heavy items at work, get in touch with the specialists work accident solicitors at Carrs to make a compensation claim. Call 01204 496898 today or fill our online contact form.

Lancashire man wins damages for Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome or Vibration White Finger

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In this case we acted for a man who worked for approximately twenty years for a local authority and who had to retire on ill-health grounds due to the onset of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome. The authority denied liability on the basis that it had a robust health and safety regime and it was argued that the vibration levels were not enough to have put protective measures in place.

However, it was established that the employer had allowed tools to be brought in from outside which were not subjected to the proper tests. Furthermore the employer had failed to take account of the fact that the employee in question was particularly susceptible to developing Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome due to working in the sector for many years before his employment to the Defendant commenced.

We secured engineering evidence, evidence from a Consultant Vascular Surgeon and advice from specialist counsel. The defendants settled the case before it was due to go to trial in terms that were favourable to our client.

The Claimant received a significant compensation payment as well as a permanent ill-health early retirement pension.

Contact Us

If you have suffered from a vibration white finger disease, get in touch with the specialists work accident solicitors at Carrs to make a compensation claim. Call 01204 496898 today or fill our online contact form.

Carrs Solicitors win £5,500 compensation for Stockport man injured at work

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Mr Mike Malone a Fabricator Welder from Stockport has recently won personal injury compensation worth £5,500 following an accident at work involving the use of an angle grinder on a cutting job for which he had always maintained that an Oxy-Acetylene torch would have been more suitable.

Mr Malone initially was advised against pursuing a claim by another firm of personal injury solicitors before speaking to Carrs Solicitors who specialise in work related injury claims.

Carrs Solicitors took the case on under a No Win No Fee agreement and after applying to the High Court to restore Mr Malone's former employers to the Company Roll served court proceedings and set about securing the best engineering and lay witness evidence.

Legal liability was denied by the insurers and their solicitors on four occasions and Carrs Solicitors continued to gather evidence and pursue the case towards trial. Compensation offers eventually followed and were increased by 57% before the case settled out of court.

Speaking about the case Mr Malone said "I was extremely pleased by the way in which my case was handled, with every development explained in layman's terms. I was most impressed however by the amount of "homework" Carrs Solicitors put into the case regarding the use of angle grinders in the workplace. This is what won the case at the end of the day."

Contact Carrs Solicitors or call 01204 496898 if you want to make an injury at work claim, you can get professional legal advice from our accident at work solicitors in Bolton.

Carrs Solicitors win manual handling claim for gentleman coach driver injured by Air Passenger's 'kitchen sink' suitcase

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Carrs Solicitors have recently won substantial injury compensation for Mr Thomas Hughes, a Coach Driver from Castle Vale, Birmingham who injured his back when attempting to assist a passenger unload an excessively heavy item of luggage from a coach at Heathrow Airport.

Some passengers arrive for their coach, hoping to board long haul flights with suitcases crammed with tin cans and other foodstuffs. Two drivers would be allocated to each coach and one would load the luggage and one would unload at the end of the journey. However, the driver responsible for loading the heavy suitcase at the start of the journey had failed to warn Mr Hughes that the suitcase was excessively heavy.

Mr Hughes' employers failed to provide adequate scales so drivers could test the weight of any items they believed to be overweight. When Mr. Hughes' back injury occurred, the supervisor to whom the accident was reported failed to make an accident book entry and when Mr Hughes returned to work from sick leave the company refused to make a retrospective record of the incident and failed to notify the HSE. The back injury sustained by Mr. Hughes eventually forced him to change employment.

Mr Hughes brought his work injury claim some time later when he was no longer working for the company. His colleague had also left the company and could not be contacted. Without any witnesses to his lifting injury, unable prove the actual weight of the suitcase and no longer sure of the date of his injury, Mr Hughes decided to seek help from Carrs Solicitors of Bolton due to their specialisation in work injury claims.

Carrs Solicitors immediately identified breaches of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and evidential records that the employer would have to disclose and represented Mr Hughes' case on a no win no fee basis.

His employers predictably denied all knowledge of the incident saying that Mr Hughes had not been on duty with the colleague in question or that he had not been injured as alleged. Carrs Solicitors obtained a court order that required the disclosure of tachograph records that suggested that Mr. Hughes' back injury had occurred one day earlier than initially believed when both men had been on duty working with the same vehicle. Mr Hughes medical records also supported his version of events and his employers admitted full liability and made and offer for damages. The level of compensation was significantly improved before the case settled out of court.

Speaking about his claim Mr Hughes said "I am very pleased indeed with the service Carrs Solicitors provided. I will always be very grateful for what you did for me".

Contact Carrs Solicitors or call 01204 496898 if you want to make an injury at work claim, you can get professional legal advice from our accident at work solicitors in Bolton.