Doing my job got me injured at work

Steven Stewart was laying a concrete floor at a construction site in Edinburgh when the heel of his foot caught on a steel stud, and he fell through the opening in the floor falling over 14 feet.

“I’ve been working in the industry for over 30 years and voids in the floor were always secured by scaffolding of some sort, not just plywood placed over the opening.”

Injuries from work accident

Steven suffered from a burst fracture to his spine and a fracture to his neck as a result of the accident at work.

He was off work for 22 weeks recovering from his injuries, and had to change jobs as a result of his injuries. He is now a van driver for his work as he is not able to carry out heavy manual work full time.

“The pain is unbelievably bad, even when I’m just ironing a pair of jeans for myself. I returned on light duties but you know what it’s like, you get asked to do something and you say yes and stretch yourself.

“I still drive for them and when they’re a man short I’ll do a day here and there but I’m in agony. I should take painkillers but I drive so don’t want to be groggy. “

Injury at work claim

Steven decided to make a claim for his work injuries as he felt his employer asked him to do a job that wasn’t safe.

The construction site manager should have secured the opening in the floor adequately, which would have meant the accident would not have happened.

"I decided to put a claim in because I felt we got told what to do, we never got a choice in this industry as if you say no they would just say that’s fine and get someone else in – and you would see the door.

“My work was happy to send us up there but it wasn’t safe. I thought I was within my rights to put a claim in.”

Work injury lawyers at Digby Brown

After hearing Digby Brown on the local radio and a recommendation from his dad, he decided to get in touch.

At Digby Brown, we have qualified lawyers with experience and expertise in securing compensation for workers injured at work.

Steven’s case was handled by Tahirah Yousaf, an Associate lawyer in the Digby Brown Edinburgh Office.

“Digby Brown dealt with everything superbly, absolutely brilliant. If I had any problems, I would just call my lawyer and she would explain everything to me. I would rate them 10 out of 10 definitely.”

Compensation for injury at work

The construction site refused to accept liability for the work accident and pay appropriate compensation.

Tahirah raised the claim in court to ensure Steven was adequately compensated for his injuries and losses from the accident. In the end, his injury claim settled for £90,000.

The company was also prosecuted for their health and safety failings and fined £3,300.

“At the time I thought I was a millionaire but at the same time, I’m only expected to be able to work until I’m 55 because of the accident so you need to be careful.

“I would advise anyone in a similar situation to definitely go to Digby Brown. If it wasn’t your fault, you should put a claim in for compensation.”