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Written on 27th June 2022 by Kim Milan

Boyes Turner’s injury claims lawyers have secured a £300,000 compensation settlement for a roofer who suffered a fracture to his heel when he fell from a ladder whilst working at height. 

Liability (responsibility) for the accident was admitted by his employer. We secured private surgery and rehabilitation for our client, funded by his employer’s insurers, and interim (advance) payments of £44,500 to help his recovery and ease his financial hardship during the claim.

Working at height and construction regulations ignored

Our client was working with his manager on the roof of a house. Throughout the construction work they had accessed the roof using a long extension ladder which had been placed against the front of the house. Following instructions from his manager, our client went down the ladder to fetch a piece of pipe. He climbed up again and was stepping off the ladder and back onto the roof when the plastic gutter bracket that the ladder was leaning against snapped. The ladder slid backwards and our client fell to the ground.

Our client’s injuries

Our client suffered a severe fracture to his heel, a broken wrist and a laceration on his head. He also suffered psychological symptoms including an adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression.

The combined effect of this injury to his right heel and a previous injury to his left heel meant that our client was no longer able to return to roofing or labouring work.

Helping our client claim compensation from his employer

We helped our client make a claim for compensation from his roofing company employer. The claim was made on the basis that they were negligent and had breached the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM Regulations) and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 in the unsafe way that they had required or allowed our client to work.

The company’s insurers admitted liability for our client’s injury. In addition to interim payments, totalling £44,500, they provided around £26,000 direct funding for private surgery on his heel after his NHS surgery was unsuccessful, and rehabilitation to help his recovery.  

Our client had been a roofer since he was 15, but after the accident (in his forties) he was no longer able to do roofing or labouring work. He had tried to retrain as an HGV driver after the accident, but his injuries left him unable to physically cope with the work needed to achieve the qualification. His loss of earnings claim was based on the fact that his previous left heel injury had not stopped him working but now, as a result of the accident, he had problems with both heels which left him unable to work. The insurers disputed the full value of the claim for loss of earnings based on their medical expert’s view that, even without the injury to the right heel, our client would not have been able to continue doing roofing work.

Despite the differences in the medical experts’ views, we were able to meet with the employer’s insurers and negotiated a £300,000 out-of-court settlement. Our client’s compensation is protected by a personal injury trust which preserves his entitlement to benefits whilst providing him with peace of mind and financial security.

“Thanks for everything. It’s been very nice to be able to put it all behind us and try to move forward. I cannot thank you and Boyes Turner for all you have done for me. It goes without saying I would always recommend Boyes Turner. I couldn’t have done it without your support.”     

If you have been severely injured in an accident at work, and would like to find out more about making a claim, you can talk to one of our experienced solicitors, free and confidentially, by contacting us here.