We recently settled a claim for a gentleman who had been injured whilst working as a roofer on a domestic property.\u00a0 He suffered serious injuries to both feet and ankles when he fell 20 feet and landed on both feet.<\/p>\n
The injury was caused by poorly designed scaffold, and a lack of safety equipment.\u00a0 The insurance company, who acted for his employer, initially denied they were responsible.\u00a0 We obtained supportive medical evidence from a foot and ankle surgeon whose opinion was that he was going to have permanent difficulties with walking and was unlikely to ever be able to go up and down ladders again.\u00a0 Given his profession, this was a serious blow to his livelihood and his ability to support his family.<\/p>\n
He managed to secure benefits whilst he was off work for around 18 months, and these kept the family afloat whilst he worked hard on his recovery.<\/p>\n
We arranged private treatment for him, to assist in his rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
His employer, who was at fault for his accident, took him back on and made adjustments to allow him to continue working within the limitations his injuries had left him with.\u00a0 The work he does now is ground based, and he is allowed breaks when the pain from his injuries (which is likely to be permanent) gets too much.\u00a0 He is very happy that he is back at work and can support his family under his own steam.<\/p>\n
Having gathered the medical evidence, we approached the insurer about settling the claim. We made several persuasive legal arguments, and threatened litigation if they weren\u2019t prepared to act sensibly.\u00a0 \u00a0Fortunately, they changed their position and agreed to pay compensation.<\/p>\n
As a result of the rules around repayment of benefits following a successful personal injury claim, the insurer agreed to repay those benefits to DWP in full, as well as offering our client a life-changing sum of money, to compensate him for his injuries and the effect it has had on his life.<\/p>\n
He was very pleased with the settlement, and received his compensation a few weeks ago, just in time for a very happy Christmas.<\/p>\n