NINE TIMES the original offer secured for injured lorry driver

Ian Gardiner was employed as an HGV driver with Stevenson Brothers (Avonbridge) Limited for just over a year when an accident at work sent him into early retirement.

The 62-year-old who had driven heavy lorries his whole life had just finished picking up a load from a yard in Aberdeen.

It had been snowing heavily that day and as he tried to exit the trailer of the lorry one of his feet slipped through the ladders and he fell backwards, fracturing his femur.

Ian said: “My leg felt as though it was no longer attached to me.

“I was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary but because of the bad weather it took almost four hours to get there.

“I was screaming in agony by the time we arrived and they gave me gas and air but it wasn’t doing anything. They gave me morphine that helped.”

Ian stayed in hospital for a week after undergoing emergency surgery where a metal rod was inserted into his leg secured by bolts.

Safety guidance issued AFTER accident

When Ian reported the accident to his employer they denied any liability, stating that he was an experienced driver who had climbed in and out of trailers daily with no issue.

That’s when he decided to contact Digby Brown where Chris Ritchie, Associate in Digby Brown’s Dundee office, led the legal action against Ian’s employer.

He said: “The way my work treated me was disgusting.

“I did a lot for them like overtime but they made things more difficult.

“It wasn’t until I spoke to Digby Brown that I was asked how I was – no-one from my work had even asked me that.”

Two weeks after the accident, Stevenson Brothers sent out leaflets informing drivers how to descend the ladders at the rear of the trailers safely. This guidance referred to two points of contact; a step at the top of the ladder; and handles on either side of the ladder.

But pictures confirmed the ladder on the trailer provided to Ian had none of these safety features.

Ian said: "My employer tried to say they weren’t liable when they knew they were in the wrong. 

“I didn’t go to work that day for this to happen.

“I was planning to work until I was 67 but I had a meeting with them and it was decided I wasn’t fit to come back to work so they paid me off. It was a huge blow financially.

“Chris got an expert to look at trailer and another to review pension loss, wages etc. These are things you just don’t think about until you speak with people who know what they’re doing."

Insurers made offer with no medical evidence

Without specialist medical evidence there is no way to accurately determine the full impact of someone’s injuries and what they are owed in compensation.

So when an initial offer of £25,000 was made by insurers without this vital evidence to support the claim, Ian was advised by Chris to reject it.

Ian said: “The first offer was insulting.

“My wife and I had got married two weeks before the accident and bought a house so we had limited savings left - every week was a real struggle to make ends meet.

“Chris explained insurers would often try and under settle, and for some, this may seem like a good amount of money.

“But I knew that amount wouldn’t cover my losses or even a year’s wages.”

During his investigations, Chris instructed a report from a Consulting Engineer to gather evidence that helped build a successful argument that our client’s injuries were caused by failings in health and safety.

He also consulted with medical experts to fully calculate Ian's losses – which included wage loss, compensation for his injury, any help and assistance that he may require in the future and private treatment costs.

After gathering the right – and required – evidence Ian’s workplace accident claim settled for nine times the initial offer amount to the tune of £230,000.

He said: “Chris was absolutely brilliant at his job, I can’t praise him enough.

"Any issue and he was very quick to get back to you and explain.

"I’m happier now and the settlement means we don’t need to worry about money – it’s a weight off my shoulders.”