Unite member awarded damages following accident at work
The member was awarded £14,500 after their employer claimed they were ‘dishonest’.
The claimant broke their arm after falling in the yard at their workplace. She claimed that a defect in the yard floor was to blame — which her employer denied. However, our client had a number of witnesses who corroborated their explanation.
Management at the firm falsely recorded that the accident had happened due to the claimant’s ankle ‘giving way’ and made no mention of the defect in the yard. The manager gave a witness statement to the effect that the member hadn’t mentioned the trip at all.
Fortunately for the client, their witnesses were willing to make supportive statements.
Thanks to the benefit of Unite funding, it was possible to take this case to court. As the company had since gone into administration, the claim was brought directly against the company’s insurers.
During proceedings the defendant’s defence was that the employer’s version of events was true, and that the claimant was unreliable. They referred to a number of unrelated matters, which understandably caused a lot of upset to the member.
However, at court the manager who had made the report did not turn up — with three of the witnesses for the claimant being present. We had previously put the defendant on notice that we believed it was the manager and not our client who was fundamentally dishonest.
The insurance company was left no alternative but to make full payment of £14,500 to the claimant, which was ordered by consent by the judge.
Martin Bare, representing the client on behalf of Morrish Solicitors said:
“This is a classic case of a large insurance company using bullying tactics and questioning the honesty of a Unite member. As trade union legal experts, we made an assessment of the member, we have experience of these types of workplaces and believed that the member would be a convincing witness. This case also stresses the importance of reporting any accidents at work and taking the details of any witnesses. We were pleased to be able to get this member a positive outcome for their claim.”
Personal injury experts
We have a dedicated team of personal injury solicitors with a wealth of experience in accident at work claims. If you have suffered an injury in the workplace get in touch on 033 3344 9600 or email [email protected].
