Medical staff often have to choose between different treatment options, which can lead to...
An HGV driver has won £12,500 in damages for a workplace injury which left him in pain and led to him having to take time off work.
Stuart Valente, 59, was injured while trying to access the delivery area in the store where he worked. The seven-inch step leading to the area was blocked by empty cages. As he pulled the cages from the step to the ground below, one of them fell and hit his shoulder.
He told his employer about the accident but was told to carry on with his work. He went to his GP as soon as possible, and after three months of ongoing pain was referred for an investigation by ultrasound. It was revealed that the accident had damaged tendons in his shoulder.
He underwent an operation to repair the tendons, followed by physiotherapy to rebuild the muscles in his arm. He was unable to drive for several weeks and had to take a number of periods off work for the rest of the year.
He made a claim for compensation for his injury, arguing that his employer should have had procedures in place for ensuring that empty cages did not block the delivery area. The £12,500 in damages he has achieved will compensate him for his pain and suffering as well as for the time he had to take off work.