An insight into an Aberdeen work accident claim

Some jobs are more dangerous than others, that's just the way it is. You're more likely to suffer personal injuries in a work accident, for example, if you're a fisherman than you are if you're a secretary.

But that's no excuse to justify a work accident. Your employer should be aware of the dangers you might be exposed to and should protect you accordingly. Using our example of a fisherman, the skipper or boat owner will know that rough seas might send you tumbling into the water and so has no excuse not to provide you with a life jacket.

If you're not given such a vital piece of equipment and subsequently suffer brain damage from being under the water too long, you're perfectly entitled to pursue a no win, no fee compensation claim against them.

Hopefully you'll never find yourself in such a situation but what we're trying to say is that no matter what type of job you do, it's your employer's responsibility to ensure you can carry out your work safely. That's the same whether you're a nanny, a factory worker or a tree surgeon; failure to protect your wellbeing could result in a personal injury compensation claim.

Despite this very real possibility, there are employers all across Scotland who still fail to operate a safe workplace, thus exposing their staff to a very real risk of personal injury.

Mark's Aberdeen construction accident
One man that discovered this only too well was 24-year-old Mark from Aberdeen. Laid off from a factory job, he spent several weeks looking for work before finally managing to secure a job on a building site on the outskirts of the city.

He had worked on construction sites in the past and this time was surprised that he wasn't given a hard hat or high-vis vest to wear. He was also a little concerned that he wasn't given a safety induction. Not wanting to kick up a fuss on his first day, however, he said nothing and simply got on with shifting some backfill.

The next morning he turned up for work and was told by his ganger that he'd receive a hat and vest when supplies arrived at lunchtime and that he'd also get a safety briefing when the site boss returned from holiday at the end of the week.

Mark wouldn't be on site at the end of the week, however. In fact he wouldn't even be on site at lunchtime to receive his safety equipment because shortly after clocking in that morning he was involved in a terrible work accident.

Whilst walking from the stores to collect a shovel a forklift truck reversed into him. Unable to get out of the way in time, he was pinned against a wall and was only prevented from being crushed to death by another labourer who alerted the forks driver to what was happening.

An ambulance was called and Mark was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered he had broken several ribs and extensively fractured both legs. He also had severe bruising around his midriff and the medical staff were convinced that his pelvis would have been shattered if the forklift truck driver had reversed another inch.

He was kept in hospital for a week before being discharged with orders not to return to physical work for three months at the very least. The pain of his injuries continued to afflict him for a long time and it was actually nearly six months before he was able to get back to work, albeit this time on a different building site.

Making a compensation claim
During this six months Mark managed to survive on money that he had saved in the bank but, angry that his hard-earned savings had to be spent because of no fault of his own, he decided to find out about the possibility of making a no win, no fee compensation claim.

Using a mate's computer he logged onto the internet and typed in 'Aberdeen accident claim.' A number of personal injury solicitors and compensation claim firms came up but the one that caught his eye with their fantastic success rate was YouClaim.

He had a look around our website and, impressed with what he found, decided to give us a call on 0800 10 757 95. He chatted to one of our friendly claims handlers and explained all about the construction accident that he'd been involved in, detailing the personal injuries he'd suffered.

We assured Mark that we'd be able to help him and got in touch with a member of our panel of expert Scottish no win, no fee solicitors. They agreed to pursue the case on Mark's behalf, promising not to charge him a penny and also vowing to let him keep 100% of any compensation that was to be awarded.

Hassle-free process
Like the majority of cases that we take on, this one didn't need to go to court and the construction firm responsible for the building site admitted liability for Mark's work accident. Already under investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), they weren't keen on getting further negative publicity and so offered Mark an accident claim settlement of £10,000.

The personal injury solicitor representing him deemed this amount of money as far too low to compensate Mark for the pain, trauma and inconvenience that the work injury had caused and so refused the offer. Twice more the construction firm made insignificant offers and twice more they were refused. Finally, they came back with an offer of just under £40,000 which was accepted.

Mark kept every single penny of this £40,000 and his personal injury solicitor didn't take a cut. Instead, like all the solicitors on our panel, he claimed back his fees from the opposing party, in this case the building firm who had failed to take adequate steps to prevent a work accident occurring.

Speaking to YouClaim shortly after receiving his compensation, Mark said, "I was really pleased with the service you gave me so thanks a lot.

"The solicitor you provided was top notch and the whole thing was easy and straightforward from start to finish.

"Hopefully I won't get hurt again, but if I do I'll be ringing you again to help sort me out some compensation."

We can help you make a cost-free work accident claim
If, like Mark, you've suffered a personal injury because of an accident at work caused by someone else's negligence, we're here to make sure you get the injury compensation you deserve.

We only use the best Scottish personal injury solicitors and our excellent success rate demonstrates our quality. You can be sure that making a no win, no fee claim through us won't cost you a thing and every single one of our customers keeps 100% compensation.

You can get in touch with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week and our friendly and experienced claims team are always here waiting to give you free legal advice and help you begin the compensation claim process.

We've got an online chat facility which you can use to talk to us over the internet from your home or office computer, you can request a call back and we'll give you a ring whenever you like, or you can simply pick up the phone and give us a call on 0800 10 757 95.

However you choose to get in touch, make sure you use YouClaim to make a totally cost-free no win, no fee work accident claim.