Officer worker compensated after fall
An office worker has made an accident claim and received more than £7,000 after she sustained an injury to her arm at work.
One afternoon she got up to go and photocopy a document for her line manager when she tripped and fell.
The twenty-year-old administrative assistant, from Dorset, was walking in her office when she caught her leg on something sharp as she fell and lurched forwards, catching her head on the corner of a shelf.
As she plunged towards the floor she extended her right arm out to break her fall and landed heavily on it.
The young women, whose main duties included typing, filing and photocopying, had worked at the firm just three weeks when the accident occurred.
A colleague rushed to see what all the commotion was about and saw that the young woman had tripped over the bottom drawer in a filing cabinet which was located near her desk. The drawer was open and, unable to shut as the runners were bent, and was believed to have been in this condition for around two months.
Action not taken over broken drawer
Comments had been made about the safety implications of the broken drawer but it seems that the matter had not been reported to the maintenance department.
The office worker was taken to hospital where the doctor informed her that she had sustained a fracture to her right forearm, a deep cut and substantial bruising to her left leg as well as a minor head injury.
She was also told that the personal injury to her head may cause continual headaches.
The doctor also told her that it may be more than a week before she can put her full weight on her leg and her arm could be in plaster for up to two months.
This news obviously meant that she could not return to work for a number of weeks and as she had only worked at the company for three weeks she was not entitled to sick pay.
Loan needed to cover outgoings
A colleague recommended that she should seek personal injury compensation for her lost earnings because the company had committed an act of negligence. In the meantime, she was forced to take out a loan so that she could pay for her monthly outgoings.
The young woman was obviously concerned that she would run up higher debts if she made an unsuccessful compensation claim. She had heard of the no win no fee and contacted a personal injury lawyers work on a no win no fee basis.
The legal team informed the woman of other services available to her, such as the no win no fee which meant that she would not have to pay her legal representitives fees out of her own pocket if her claim was not a success.
She decided that she would like to go ahead with the no win no fee. The company admitted liability for the health and safety violation and within a few months she was awarded £7,200 as a combination of both general and special damages.
Updated on 20/10/2009