Significant lump sum for leg amputation

Sam Collard
house builders

Contact

Table of Contents

Introduction

Mr N, a Romanian man in his 30s, came to the UK to work with his father-in-law in early 2018. He found work as a self-employed construction worker. In April 2018 he was working on a construction project at a residential house in London.

The Accident

He was bending over digging a fence post hole in the garden of the property when a tree stump grinder that was being used by another worker nearby suddenly made contact with his leg. He suffered a catastrophic injury to his left leg as a result and underwent emergency surgery at St Mary’s Hospital in an attempt to save his leg.

Medical Complications

Following surgery, Mr N’s leg became infected and following several further surgeries during 2018 he had to undergo a below-knee amputation of his left leg in February 2019.

Liability Dispute

Both the owner of the property, who is a property developer and the main contractor, who was also Mr N’s de-facto employer, denied liability for his accident. There was a significant factual dispute between all three parties as to how exactly the accident had happened and the events leading up to the accident. There had been no independent witnesses to the actual incident itself, and Mr N had his back to the tree stump grinder and its operator so had not seen what happened in the seconds before the incident. The operator himself gave a different account of the accident that was inconsistent with Mr N’s account, and on the back of this, the Defendants’ lawyers accused Mr N of being fundamentally dishonest about how his accident had occurred.

Legal Action and Evidence Gathering

Osbornes believed Mr N’s account of the accident and strongly opposed the accusation of fundamental dishonesty, working hard to obtain supporting evidence including a witness statement from the hire company that the property developer defendant had hired the tree stump grinder from. This proved to be a turning point in the case, with the owner of the hire company able to shed light on some of the poor health and safety practices of the two defendants.

Settlement

At a joint settlement meeting in the summer of 2021, the parties reached an agreement to settle the claim for a significant six-figure sum. This reflected the lower cost of care and other expenses in Romania, where Mr N had returned to live, compared to the UK, but still left Mr N with a significant lump sum with which to buy good quality prosthetics and other equipment over the course of the rest of his life.

How we can help

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury at work and are facing challenges in proving liability, our dedicated team of legal experts is here to help. We are committed to fighting for your rights and securing the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation:

  • Fill in our online enquiry form; or
  • Call us on 020 7485 8811

Share this article

Contact Sam Collard today

For a free initial conversation call 0207 485 8811

Email us Send us an email and we’ll get back to you






    Client StoriesVIEW ALL

    1. stadium
      18.1.2023

      Pedestrian receives £1.75 million following amputation

      Kate Milton, acted on behalf of a Romanian National who was hit by a vehicle as she was walking home...

      Read more
    2. man running with prosthetic leg
      5.11.2021

      Seven figure leg amputation settlement

      Mr S was walking across the yard at work when he was run over by a forklift truck from behind....

      Read more
    3. hospital
      1.7.2021

      Limb amputation to pedestrian awarded £1.8million

      Client Suffers Life-Changing Injuries in Pedestrian Accident Our client suffered life-changing injuries as she was walking home from work. A...

      Read more
    4. london construction site
      23.6.2021

      Client Story: Construction Accident Results in Amputation

      Our Client’s Background and Employment Mr C a young Romanian national, came to this country for work in 2015. He...

      Read more
    5. blue lights
      17.6.2021

      Life changing injuries following motorbike accident

      London motorcyclist hit by lorry Our client, who is from Hungary was riding his motorbike in London when a lorry...

      Read more
    6. Worker in factory
      13.8.2019

      Osbornes settles finger amputation claim for record £1 million...

      Osbornes acts for a factory worker who suffered partial finger amputations on his dominant hand when it got caught in...

      Read more

    VIEW ALL