Our client is employed with an industrial cleaning services company in Stirling. On the day of the accident, in October 2016, he had been asked to assess a fault on a vacuum tanker machine during which he suffered an amputation injury to his hand.

Thompsons Solicitors in Scotland was contacted by his union Unite. The accident at work claim had to be intimated to the defender promptly and a Court Action raised at the same time to prevent the case from being time-barred.

The background

In order to discover what the fault was with the vacuum tanker, our client had to remove a guard which allowed him to examine the drive belts. The machine needed to be running to properly evaluate the problem. Our client had not been told or shown how to carry out the assessment in any other way.

During the process he had to take the machine out of gear and attempt to turn the belts by hand. But, as he did so, he inadvertently engaged the clutch which caused the belts to start turning. Despite not fully engaging, the movement caused our client's fingers to get caught in the machine. All fingers on his right hand were crushed.

He was immediately taken to hospital by ambulance where he underwent surgery on his fingers.

The consequences

Our client suffered crush injuries to all his fingers including amputation of his right little finger. He was unable to return to work for three months following the accident at work and he continues to suffer numbness and tingling in his hand during cold weather.

The settlement

Following intimation of the claim, the defender made a Tender offer in the sum of £15,000. Our client was pleased with this outcome and instructed Thompsons to accept on his behalf.

Settlement was agreed on 9th February 2021.