Head injured machine operator wins fight for compensation against employer, Euro Dismantling Services Ltd
02 March 2010
The employer of a machine operator who was
left with severe brain damage after he was struck by heavy
machinery at work has accepted responsibility for the accident. An
interim award of half a million pounds in compensation has been
provided to pay for the employee’s rehabilitation and accommodation
needs. The full value of the claim is yet to be assessed but
the claim is thought to be worth several million pounds.
Christopher Kaye, a 55 year old man from
Barnsley, was working on a construction site in Sheffield for
demolition company Euro Dismantling Services Ltd when he was
seriously injured in October 2008. He was changing the
grapple attachment on an excavator when the connecting metal bar
fixing the grapple to the boom sprang out, hitting him in the face
and knocking him to the ground.
Mr Kaye was rushed to Sheffield Hospital where
he underwent life saving surgery. He was left with severe
brain damage and remained in Keresforth neuro-rehabilitation unit
for many months. Mr Kaye now needs around the clock care and is unable to walk or care
for himself without assistance. His ability to communicate is
limited and he will not be able to work again.
Mr Kaye’s family instructed Jill Greenfield, personal
injury partner at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse, in a
claim against Euro Dismantling Services Ltd. We gathered
evidence to suggest that Mr Kaye had received inadequate training
on how to change the grapple; that recommendations that employees
should receive more training were ignored and that equipment that
could have allowed him to carry out the job more safely was
purchased after the accident. It was discovered that written
instructions on changing the grapple were not provided until after
Mr Kaye’s accident.
The Defendants denied this and disputed the
claim.
Shortly before a meeting with the Claimant’s
lawyers to discuss a possible settlement the Defence accepted
primary responsibility and provided an interim payment of £500,000.
The Defence maintained that they believed Mr Kaye was partially to
blame. This was not accepted by Mr Kaye’s family or his legal team
but the parties came to an agreement whereby Mr Kaye will recover
90% of his full damages from the Defence rather than litigate the
case at trial.
Jill Greenfield said: “This was a terrible
accident that could have been avoided had better equipment and
training been in place at Mr Kaye’s workplace. It has been a
difficult fight to secure financial support and whilst money in
itself cannot compensate for what my client and his family have
gone through, it will ensure that he is able to get the long term
treatment and care he needs which is now absolutely essential to
him.”
For further press information please
contact:
Louise Eckersley, PR Manager,
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP on 020 7861 4120.