Builder’s bid for compensation ended
The six-figure
work accident claim of a builder whose forty-year career came to an end when he fell from a roof was turned down by a court after a key witness failed to appear to give evidence.
Thomas Reed suffered from head injuries after falling from the roof of Kenneth Blundell’s bungalow in October 2002. He launched a compensation claim against Mr Blundell at Lincoln County Court last year but the case was thrown out. Mr Reed, who resides in Spalding, Lincolnshire, then attempted to overturn the ruling at the Court of Appeal in London after he claimed to have received new information that the defendant had bribed a witness when the case was originally in court.
However, Mr Reed’s appeal was also dismissed when his informant failed to appear to give evidence. In the previous hearing a judge ruled that it was Mr Reed, as the professional builder, rather than Mr Blundell, as the homeowner, who was in control of the work and thus liable for the accident.
Updated on 5/16/2008