Archive for February, 2010

Accident Compensation Claim Launched by OAP Hit by a Falling Ad Sign

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

A pensioner is launching an accident claim for £30,000 after claiming she was hit by a falling shop sign, as she walked along a city centre street on a windy day.

The five foot by four foot sign is said to have blown off a shop front and hit the pensioner, knocking her to the ground in Edinburgh’s Hanover Street on 19 December, 2008.

She suffered a dislocated and fractured left shoulder, an extremely painful personal injury.

The 63-year-old, of Mayfield Road, is now filing a compensation claim from the firm who erected the sign, a Glasgow based group.

She claims they are responsible for not putting up the sign correctly and endangering the safety of the general public.

The firm however denies liability for the accident. It says that the sign was screwed correctly into the shop front by a joiner and checked for safety and sturdiness after erection.

It also stated that no problems with the signs stability were reported to them before the accident.

It also noted that a contract with the shop owner provided them with an indemnity.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Footballer Blinded in Bottle Attack is Set for £500,000 Payout After Five-Year Battle

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Compensation of £500,000 is set to be paid to a talented former youth footballer who was partially-blinded in a bottle attack.

John McTier, then 16, was walking his girlfriend home when he was jumped by a gang three boys and three girls, aged 14-17. Finally, after five years, his fight for compensation is close to success.

After support from the Professional Footballers’ Association Scotland a record breaking sum is expected. John, who had just signed for Ayr United, was predicted by experts to have a big future ahead of him, when his career was ruined by the unprovoked attack in December 2004.

As John lay blinded in one eye in hospital thinking about the wreckage of his life, he told mum Patricia: “I wish they had finished me off. If I can’t play football I can’t do anything else.”

A £5,000 sum was initially offered from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority – CICA – which was rejected and since then, negotiations have continued.

Settlement is expected soon and it’s thought that the offer will top £500,000 to cover loss of earnings and injuries.

Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association Scotland stated: “John had the ability to have a long and successful career. Left-sided players are at a premium.

“If he continued to develop he would have moved upwards. There would have been every chance Rangers, Celtic or Championship clubs in England would be interested. Players of this type would expect between £200,000-£500,000 per annum.”

John who has eight Standard grades, three Higher and a degree in sports development, at present is on a salary of £8,000 a year, working for a car recovery firm.

Last night, he said: “I have been waiting for almost five years for the compensation to be settled. I gave football a try again but anytime I went to kick the ball it don’t seem to be in the right place. My balance had been totally affected.

“People talk about Dean Shiels of Hibs and how he can operate with one eye but the difference is he grew up with one eye and is used to the balance. I am not used to it. I would never be the same player again.

“My dreams of being a pro are ruined.”

Johns injury lawyer, Liam O’Donnell, said: “Negotiations are at an advanced stage in this very sad case and we are extremely hopeful a deal will be forthcoming which properly reflects what this young man has gone through.

“He lost his career that night. He’s had everything taken from him through no fault of his own.”

Posted in Criminal Injury, Personal Injury | 1 Comment »

A company pays out compensation as a man loses four fingers

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

A company has been ordered to pay almost £5,000 following a workplace accident in which a man lost four fingers.

The workplace accident, in May 2008, occurred when machine operator Mr. L and a colleague had been working on a plastic cutting machine. The plastic had become jammed and Mr L, thinking that his colleague had turned off the automatic guillotine switch, tried to clear the blockage. As he did so the guillotine cutter came down on his hand, severing four fingers.

Mr L was in hospital for three weeks with surgeons eventually managing to re-attach two of the fingers, but he will be unable to carry out any manual work in the foreseeable future.

Liverpool Magistrates Court fined the company £2,500 with £2,438 in prosecution costs for breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations which state that an employer must stop employees having access to dangerous machine parts.

HSE inspector Martin Paren said: “The company should have had a guard on the guillotine to prevent workers from reaching the blade. An automatic mechanism should also have been in place so that the power was cut if the guard was opened. Instead Mr L wrongly assumed that a colleague had switched the guillotine off, and he had four fingers cut off as a result.”

Posted in Employers Liability, Personal Injury | 2 Comments »