A Gateshead company has settled a Polish man's personal injury claim after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament when he fell from a ladder while at work.
Our client, 32, has been unable to work since the accident in January 2008. We have worked with his employer's insurers to ensure that he received appropriate rehabilitation and have now settled his claim for a sum in excess of £62,000.
The client instructed industrial accident experts at Irwin Mitchell to investigate his claim. A study published by the firm in 2009 revealed that migrant worker deaths were on the increase in the UK, with 12 deaths comprising 17% of the total number of fatalities in the construction sector last year, with deaths in other sectors also on the increase.
The number of fatalities of non-UK workers rose up from nine in 2005/6 to 18 in 2007/8 and the proportion also doubting from 4.1% to 7.9% in the same period, against figures showing that 5.4% of the total workforce comprises migrants.
Our lawyer representing the Polish gentleman, said: "Like with so many other people in his situation, our client is the victim of an employer that has taken short-cuts with health and safety in the belief that they would get away with it because the person involved did not speak English as a first language.
"Getting a migrant worker to do jobs that a UK native wouldn't is taking the easy route and employers are effectively gambling with these people's lives.
"They could either spend time and money enforcing rigorous health and safety procedures, or give them a miss and hope nothing goes wrong. Inevitably, things do go wrong and people are being hurt far more frequently than they should be."
Our client said: "It was initially very worrying being unable to work without any income and with limited benefit entitlement after my accident. Fortunately my solicitors were able to obtain regular interim payments for me and secured funding for private rehabilitation to aid my recovery which I hope will enable me to get back to work soon."
If you've suffered an injury at work after a fall from a ladder, our expert personal injury lawyers could help you claim compensation. Visit our Ladder Fall Compensation Claims for more information.
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