Truck driver injured by falling taxi hopes legal action boosts safety for others

A truck driver said he felt compelled to raise a legal action against his former employers as the only way to improve safety for others in his industry.

Robert Alexander, whose job involved uplifting broken-down and accident damaged vehicles in often dangerous circumstances, was unloading a damaged taxi when it suddenly rolled off the flatbed of the truck – and dragged him with it.

It turned out the handbrake of the taxi was faulty and no one told him. 

Robert had only worked in the job for 6 months and he never received any formal training in working with defective and damaged vehicles, which can be notoriously difficult to uplift and unload.  

Despite all this, his employer tried to blame Robert for what happened and demanded that he sign paperwork accepting responsibility.

But after Robert, 43, raised a legal action with Digby Brown, his employers backed down after we argued they failed to provide adequate training or carry out necessary risk assessments. 

“In my line of work, people are killed every year. I feel very lucky that the taxi didn’t run me over and cause more serious injuries.

“Companies should be doing everything possible to keep staff safe, but too often they don’t to save money and time - and people are too scared to speak up.”

Robert suffered multiple injuries to his neck and back. While the injuries were less severe than originally feared they left him unable to work for weeks which resulted in the loss of earnings. It also took his back more than 12 months to fully recover. 

Robert, who lives in Glasgow with his wife and three-year-old daughter, said:  

“I was in agony.

“I couldn’t care for my wife who has epilepsy or our daughter and she didn’t understand why her daddy suddenly couldn’t lift her for a cuddle or a kiss, or come play with her. 

“On top of this, having to accept people looking after me was very difficult, I felt worthless and helpless.

“The whole ordeal was utterly heart-breaking - but employers don’t think about the impact these types of things have on your family.” 

When Robert tried to return to work, his bosses demanded he pays £1,000 towards the damage to a courtesy car which was hit when the taxi rolled off the flatbed.    

Robert added:  

“I was forced to go to a food bank to feed my wife and daughter.

“We still had bills to pay but with no money coming in, our family had to help us financially.

 “It put a huge strain on my marriage and family life.”

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After the trauma of what Robert went through, he was unable to return to this line of work. Robert said:

“I thought I would work as recovery truck driver for the rest of my days, but after what happened, I just couldn’t go back.”

Like many others, Robert didn’t plan on making a work accident claim. But after what he went through, he felt something needed to be done to prevent this from happening to anyone else in the future.

Sam Boyce, Solicitor at Digby Brown, supported Robert’s claim for compensation against his employer. He investigated the circumstances of the accident, collecting witness statements and medical evidence.

However, his employer failed to provide Robert’s records or risk assessments carried out. But with a court order, we successfully recovered Robert’s training and personnel records and risk assessments on loading and unloading damaged and defective vehicles. 

With the right evidence gathered, Sam was able to clearly show the company failed to provide any training on unloading or loading damaged and defective vehicles, in fact, Robert barely received any training at all.

The company also failed to carry out an acceptable risk assessment, and if they had, this would have highlighted that steps needed to be taken to safeguard employees like Robert to prevent an accident from taking place. 

Our Glasgow team settled Robert’s work claim for £5,400 in compensation.

Robert said:

“It was possibly the easiest thing I’ve ever done. 

“My case wasn’t a big case to Digby Brown, but my solicitor Sam Boyce fought tirelessly to get me the best settlement. 

“He always made time to explain what was going on even to just get in touch to let me know there wasn’t any updates. To me, that meant a lot. 

“The compensation gave me room to go back to college and retrain.

“Before I was working 100 hours a week but already I am able to spend more time with my family which is priceless.

“I hope by the company paying compensation to me, it will mean better procedures and training for others so it doesn’t happen again, and no-one is more seriously injured.” 

His Solicitor Sam added:

“Robert’s case highlights the need for proper training and risk assessments to be put in place by employers. These are fundamental legal rights for all workers and if they are not implemented, then people have legal avenues available should they suffer injury as a result. 

“Sadly, cases like this are far too common but I’m glad Robert made a full recovery and we were able to help.”