I read with interest this week about a claim for a factory worker being awarded £300,000 in compensation following an accident at work that left him with a permanent disability.
Wayne Miller from Cumbria was an employee of James Cropper plc who are a specialist paper and materials company. He was attempting to repair machinery when suddenly and without warning his arm was dragged in by his sleeve to the rotating rollers inside the machine. He suffered from serious personal injury which included severe friction burns to his arm and damaged nerves in his wrist which required to be operated on. Unfortunately for Mr Miller, his injury has left him with no discernable grip in his hand, as a consequence of which, he has been forced to give up manual labour.
The company admitted liability for the incident, however, they alleged that he was partly responsible for the accident by removing some of the machine guards and choosing to work on his own, apparently contrary to the company's safety policy. It is understood that a small concession was made, in the region of 20% to acknowledge that Mr Miller partly contributed to his injury which, in no way, exonerated his employers from their culpability in terms of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Doubtless, the £300,000 will be to acknowledge his future loss of earnings and disadvantage on the labour market resulting from such a serious personal injury
