Our client, Mr B, came to us after suffering a severe crush injury to the right foot and ankle on a construction site. These were serious life changing injuries sustained when an excavator suddenly moved backwards onto his boot pinning it to the floor with the full weight of the excavator on top of it.
After conducting initial enquiries with the Health & Safety Executive a Letter of Claim was sent to the employers of the excavator driver and the insurers admitted liability in full.
The initial medical evidence provided a guarded prognosis. Meanwhile Mr B, who was self employed, went back to work even though he struggled to walk any distance over uneven ground. He was eventually released from a contract in June 2015 and took the difficult decision to leave engineering and set up his own business working from home.
With an uncertain future a claim form was issued and we obtained up to date medical evidence for our client which enabled better predictions for the future including the income he would receive from his new business.
After making low settlement offers in the early stages, the insurers engaged in more realistic settlement negotiations as the case moved towards trial. As a result settlement was ultimately agreed in the sum of £160,000.
Steve Evans, who had conduct of the claim, commented:-
“This is a case where the insurers realised they were liable to pay compensation at an early stage and endeavoured to settle the case quickly and cheaply. To his credit Mr B persevered, went back to work and waited for fair and appropriate compensation for his very nasty injury.
This is a case which required detailed investigation and necessarily took time to settle. Hopefully Mr B’s life has been made easier and he can now fully focus on his new business.”