Our client, Mr M Bordon from Glasgow, suffered a workplace accident on 5 January 2021. He was referred to Thompsons in Scotland via his union, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) so that we could pursue personal injury compensation on his behalf.
The background
Mr Bordon, an employee of Johnstone's Food Service, a food production company in East Kilbride, was working an evening shift in his role of production operator on the day of the accident. This involved handling finished products, loading them onto pallets, and placing the pallets for delivery.
The accident occurred in the factory's dispatch area. Typically, dispatch workers would be present to keep the area tidy and to fetch items for the pallets, but at the time of the accident, no dispatch workers were available to assist Mr Bordon as he accessed materials for his work line.
He needed two rolls of film that would be used for cake packets. The rolls, which are around 18 to 20 inches long and weigh about 15 to 20 kg, were stored in pallets in the despatch area. When he went to get the rolls, our client felt the area was not tidy and in a "bad state of repair". He had to retrieve the rolls of film from an open pallet which was badly stacked.
As Mr Bordon removed a roll of film, a number of other rolls fell down, crushing his left hand.
The consequences
Mr Bordon, was immediately aware of pain in his left index finger – he is left-hand dominant. His finger was swollen and visibly broken.
Our client was assisted by a first aider and an accident report was filled in. Mr Bordon's father arrived to take him University Hospital Hairmyres where an X-ray confirmed that our client's finger had suffered a fracture.
Thompsons obtained a medical report confirming the extent of Mr Bordon's injuries which included a crush injury to the tip of his left index finger, with an associated undisplaced fracture to the tip of the distal radius.
Mr Bordon experienced ongoing symptoms and discomfort in the tip of his finger. He was absent from work for 9-10 weeks and lost more than £1,500 in wages.
The settlement
Liability was admitted by Johnstone's Food Service and their legal team put forward a work accident compensation claim settlement offer of £6,453.94.
The personal injury solicitors at Thompsons felt this offer was fair and Mr Bordon was delighted with the outcome.
The claim was settled on 1st July 2021.
