Work injury claim awarded £15,000 after slipping on ice

Mrs A was injured at work after slipping on ice as she was helping a disabled child off the school bus, which was part of her duties at work.

Mrs A tried to pursue a work injury claim with another Scottish personal injury firm but they were unable to prove the employer was at fault – even after having the case for over two years.

However, after Mrs A came to Digby Brown to pursue her work injury claim, a landmark court ruling in another Digby Brown case helped pave the way for just and fair compensation.

Impact of work injury

The fall broke Mrs A’s tibia which required 2 days in hospitals, a plate in her leg and 6 months’ recovery. She had a lot of physiotherapy and the plate removed a year and a half later which meant a further 6 weeks off work.

“It was near Christmas at the time the accident happened, so it was a real struggle as I couldn’t drive anywhere or get to the shops.

“I couldn’t do anything really - cook, get into the bath, do the housework – as I had to have no weight on my leg for 6 weeks so I had to dependent on my family for help.”

Another firm said there was no case for a work injury claim

Mrs A contacted her union which referred her to another personal injury law firm based in Scotland to make a work accident claim.

They had the case for 2 and a half years before turning around and saying there was no case for personal injury compensation. During that time, she received a few letters from their personal injury solicitors and never received a call from them – she always had to call and chase them for an update.

Turned to Digby Brown for work injury claim

Mrs A was left with only a couple of months left to make a work accident claim before the case time barred.

Digby Brown had the case for only a year and managed to secure both an admission of liability and achieve a fair compensation settlement for Mrs A’s injuries and losses.

“The service was like night and day compared with the other law firm. They didn’t contact me at all but Digby Brown were excellent. I was kept in the loop and everyone I spoke to kept me up to date even if there was nothing going on just so I knew exactly what was happening.

“Digby Brown were far superior in comparison.”

Employer failed to provide reasonable safe work equipment

Digby Brown’s personal injury lawyers in Glasgow argued that her employers were in breach of its common law duties to provide Mrs A with a reasonably safe system of work and reasonably safe work equipment.

Primarily The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992.

“I felt guilty at first making a claim and swithered whether I should. After the other firm said there was no case I was going to leave it there but then my employer supplied staff with grit sticks to help spread grit for areas affected by ice.

“These weren’t there at the time of my accident. Had grit sticks been in place, my accident might not have happened. There were things my employer could have done to help me and keep me safe.”

Landmark decision helped secure compensation for work injury claim

“After Digby Brown won the Tracey Kennedy case, it really helped my work injury claim and everything was all systems go at that point.