A Unite member has been awarded compensation from his employer Eddie Stobart following a workplace accident. Peter Crainie, who is employed by the haulage firm as an HGV driver secured over £3,000 in compensation following the accident in April 2010.
Mr Crainie was leaving the depot when he realised one of his containers was not properly secured onto the back of the lorry. He pulled over to attend to this and in the process of trying to push a large pin back into place his finger became jammed between the pin and the bed of the lorry leaving him with injuries to his hand.
As a Unite member Mr Crainie was entitled to free legal services from award winning accident injury lawyers Thompsons. Thompsons intimated a claim on Mr Crainie’s behalf, arguing that the accident was avoidable and was caused due to the pin being old and in a state of disrepair.
Thompsons argued that had the firm carried out regular maintenance and acted on complaints from other employees who had raised concerns about the pins prior to Mr Crainie’s accident his injuries could have been avoided. In addition they argued that the client’s employers were in breach of their statutory duties as laid out in The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Thompsons Solicitor Susanne McGraw said: “This is an accident which was completely avoidable and had the employer taken the concerns of its employees seriously Mr Crainie’s accident would most likely have never happened”.
The claim was made on the grounds of breaches to the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. The haulage firm admitted liability and Mr Crainie was compensated with £3,250.
If you have been involved in an accident in or out of the workplace, as a union member you will be entitled to free legal support. Even if you are unsure whether you would be able to claim compensation, contact our specialist accident lawyers today on 0800 0891331 and we can investigate matters for you and advise you on your first step towards receiving compensation.