Thumb injury at work claim

A Sheffield man has received an out-of-court settlement of £6250.00 after sustaining severe crushing injuries to both his thumbs leaving him with residual numbness.

Neil Goodchild, 22, of Handsworth in Sheffield suffered his injuries whilst working part time at works being undertaken by Carillion Construction Limited based in Wolverhampton. Mr Goodchild was working part time whilst studying Mechanical and Computer Aided Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University.

Work was being done at Tamworth Station where Mr Goodchild was stressing the lines along with a team of 6 other men. The rail had been cut and jacked up using a duff jack in order that sections could be taken out. Mr Goodchild was trying to dislodge a rubber pad which had stuck to the underside of the rail by pushing the pad with both his thumbs, one under each side of the rail. The duff jack was released by one of Mr Goodchild's colleagues without any warning and the rail fell heavily trapping both of his thumbs.

Mr Goodchild managed to pull his right hand from underneath the rail, ripping off the nail of his thumb, but a colleague had to help free his left thumb from under the rail. He was then taken to Good Hope Hospital and under general anaesthetic both thumbs were inspected and a washout performed. Mr Goodchild had to stay in hospital for 2 nights so the wounds could be carefully monitored. As a result of the injuries he suffered at work, Mr Goodchild could not return to his job for more than 2 months.

He said, If my colleague had given a warning that he was releasing the duff jack then I would have had some chance of moving my hands out of the way.

Thumb injury compensation

His payout was secured with help from Lisa Fairclough of personal injury experts Irwin Mitchell, based at the firms Riverside offices in Sheffield.

She said, The injuries sustained by Mr Goodchild came as a direct result of his colleague failing to give any warning of his actions. It is every employers responsibility to ensure employees are provided with sufficient training and guidance and to ensure safe environment for all workers to work in.