Pyers solicitors recently acted on behalf of a man who sustained injury and damage to his eyes after taking medication prescribed for an unrelated condition. There were issues with regard to the standard of care he received in relation to the poorly monitored prescription of this medication, and also with regard to the failure by his optician to diagnose the signs of macular damage at a time when further deterioration may have been prevented. The Claimant received a substantial sum in settlement of his claim for the damage sustained and to compensate him for the fact that he could no longer continue in his job.
Settlement of £175,000 after hip replacement claim
March 1st, 2010
A settlement in the sum of £175,000 was awarded recently for a clinical negligence claim. The case involved a hip replacement for a lady in her mid 50’s. The hip component was fixed at the wrong angle and it dislocated soon after the operation and continued to dislocate until the hospital revised the operation. Unfortunately the hip became infected and eventually needed a two-stage revision. The client struggled with her job and has had to leave the job and will try to find lighter work which did not involve any standing up. The settlement includes future loss of earnings and the costs of further private treatment.
Injured paperboy in line for compensation
October 26th, 2009
A paperboy who suffered a brain injury after being hit by a lorry has been told he is entitled to compensation.
Joshua Smith had applied for the position at the Co-op in Staffordshire just after his 13th birthday in 2005, the Staffordshire Sentinel reports.
However, days after beginning the job, he was hit by a vehicle being driven by Mark Hammond.
The victim suffered a fractured pelvis, an open head wound, a ruptured kidney, bruised lungs, cuts and bruises and a brain injury.
He now has short-term memory problems and is likely to need care later in life.
This week, a judge deemed that Mr Hammond was partly responsible for the accident as his brakes were faulty.
The amount of compensation Joshua will be entitled to is to be decided at a later date.
According to the Department for Transport, there were 28,572 people killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads in 2008.
Widow awarded £300k after husband’s asbestos-related death
October 22nd, 2009
A woman has been awarded compensation of £300,000 after her husband died from the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.
Michael Streets left school in 1963 and got a job as an apprentice oil fitter at Fawley Refinery, the Southern Daily Echo reports.
Although he left the company in 1975, Mr Streets said he recalled there being no safety measures in place to protect employees against the danger of asbestos. In fact, he said in a statement before he died that workers used to have ’snowball’ fights with the fibres and that the air was thick with deadly dust.
Mr Streets contracted mesothelioma and died in December 2007. His widow Francis took legal action against the Esso Petroleum Company and it recently admitted liability.
She is to be awarded £300,000 in compensation for her loss.
Asbestos-related cancers typically affect five times as many men as women because they are often the result of working in industries that used the materials in the 1960s, Cancer Research UK attests.
Compensation for Barrow man affected by HAVS
October 2nd, 2009
A man from Barrow-in-Furness is to be paid compensation after using a vibrating tool at work left him with a permanent injury.
John Sides, 44, was an employee at cleaning products manufacturer Robert McBride and had been using a grinder to remove paint from a floor, the Workplace Law Network reports.
After using the equipment for two days, Mr Sides began to suffer problems with his shoulder and now has permanent symptoms associated with hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
He took legal action against the company because he had not been given any training on how to use the grinder and because his injuries have left him unable to do his decorating job properly.
Robert McBride admitted negligence and agreed to a compensation payout of £17,500.
Spokesman for the trade union GMB Tom Brennan said: "Had his employer taken more care to give him training on how to use the tool correctly to minimise vibration, this accident could have been avoided."
Last month, GP Martin Scurr said in an article for the Daily Mail that anyone who has developed work-related HAVS should look into making a compensation claim because it is a recognised industrial disease.
