Mr Neil O'Neil who works as a hospital porter was seriously hurt in a Boxing Day accident in the grounds of Stobhil hospital in Glasgow. He was going about his routine duties when he slipped on ice and sustained significant injuries. Despite the area in question being used by many pedestrians it appeared that it had not been gritted.
As a member of the trade union UNISON, Mr O'Neil was advised to consult his union lawyers, Thompsons with regard to his position. After obtaining witness statements that the area had not been gritted along with hospital record which also showed that no gritting had been done it appeared that the health board's liability was straight forward. However the Health Board would not settle and Thompson's specialist accident team raised Mr O'Neil's case at the Court of Session.
In advance of a pre-trial meeting the Health Board decided they would offer Mr O'Neil a sum of £3,000 but on Thompson's advice this was rejected. A further meeting resulted in an offer of £8,000 which Mr O'Neil was delight to accept. He said "I was very happy with the result of my case and with the excellent service I got from Thompsons. They did everything for me, kept me in the loop and gave me a first class advice. I've worked in the NHS for years and know how slow things proceed in an organisation of this size so I was amazed with how quickly Thompsons got this sorted for me. Obviously no one wants to suffer an accident at their work but when I did I was glad I could call on Thompson's help". Mr Neil O'Neil , Glasgow