NewLaw wins £190,000 for Hampshire roofer after fall

NewLaw have won £190,000 for a Hampshire roofer who sustained head injuries after falling through a skylight.

Mr Q was an experienced roofer employed by a local building firm. In 2005 he was working on a school roof when he fell through an opening left after a skylight had been removed. He severely injured his wrist and sustained a blow to the head which left him unconscious.

His employer's insurers denied liability for the accident and the case went to the high court. The judge determined that Mr Q had contributed to the accident by having used celltex instead of plyboard to cover the hole temporarily, since plyboard would not have shattered as the celltex had done.

Mr Q had developed depression as well as chronic pain syndrome in his wrist. The case required Mr Q's lawyer, personal injury specialist Elisabeth Roth at NewLaw, to obtain full medical evidence on behalf of her client. The neuropsychological findings were that the head injury left him with an increased risk of developing epilepsy, and the brain injury made it difficult for him to learn a new job.

Eventually the case was settled before trial and Mr Q received £142,000 in damages, after deduction of approximately £30,000 social security benefits and £20,000 interim payments already received.

"The main issue in the settlement discussions were about the likelihood that the claimant, doing a heavy physical job as a roofer, might not have been able to work until the age of 65 if the accident had not occurred, and the likelihood of him finding some employment in the future," Elisabeth Roth explains.

"Although we had to go to trial to determine liability, I was pleased that we were able to save Mr Q from further stress by agreeing a suitable settlement out of court."

20/05/2010