Workplace Negligence Leads To Six Figure Compensation
A student who was forced to have his arm amputated following an industrial accident at a farm has been awarded a six figure compensation settlement.
Our client was a university student who, through an international student employment scheme, had arranged to work in England to learn English and earn some money to fund his studies. He secured work on a farm in 2002 and was asked to walk alongside a potato harvester, removing greenery from the base of the machine.
An important safety device on the potato harvester had been removed by the owner of the farm which led to his left arm becoming caught. He suffered a traumatic amputation at the mid-forearm level and all soft tissue structures were destroyed. The wound was also heavily contaminated with dirt.
He was rushed to hospital where a seven hour operation was performed that night to reattach the arm. Over the next few years, our client underwent numerous operations at St James’s hospital in Leeds where surgeons attempted to improve the level of function in the arm.
The student approached industrial accident solicitors at Irwin Mitchell and, following investigations, the employer pleaded guilty to workplace negligence through breaches of health and safety legislation. He was fined a substantial sum but his insurers later argued that our client was partly responsible for the accident.
We arranged a programme of rehabilitation (including physiotherapy and other therapies) using the assistance of interim payments, during which our client decided to continue his studies in the UK.
His surgery continued in Leeds, with the expert team he had come to trust.
Court proceedings were commenced and the claim ultimately settled for a substantial six figure sum that took into account the severity of his injuries, his past financial losses and likely future losses in terms of future employment, care and treatment costs.
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