Accident

xonwow

The claimant says that he is a delivery driver. he suffered injury when he fell from the tailgate of his mercedes delivery vehicle.

The claiment says that if the tailgate had been fitted with safety rails he would not have fallen and suffered significant injury.

Employers may say the vehicle was in good condition and well maintained and that it was suitable for the work which the claiment was doing (it was )
they may say that as far as they are concerned the fitting of safety rails is not mandatory or even necessary.they may say the claiment should have paid more attention and that he could have avoided his own injury.

Im the claimant..i fell from lorry 7 mnths ago shattering my wrist..i stepped of side as i was carrying goods... i have asked a solicitors to make a claim but now it is decision time for me should i proceed do you think i would stand a good chance( i dont) i am claiming because employers after promising to look after me are now trying to get rid of me because i am unable to go back to normal job and because i have lost significant amount of money while off with injury.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

It's very hard to know what to say without simply giving you a load of questions about personal stuff which you probably don't want to give out in a public forum! Here is my take on the matter, but I am not a legal expert and suggest you speak to one!

Firstly - Length of service

If you have worked for them for 5 years doing the same job without an accident and they have the maintenance history for the vehicle, then they have a good argument against you; they have maintained the vehicle and you have proved you can do the job without falling off the lift.

If you had only worked for them for 6 months prior to the accident, then you may be able to get round the "vehicle maintenance" issue.

Secondly - Training

Were you trained properly to use the tail lift - did you attend a course that you had to sign to say you had gone to and was there some form of record of you passing a test to show that you were able to use the equipment safely? Did you receive a "refresher" course regularly (probably every 12 months would so) to remind you of the health and safety aspects of your job?

You should speak to your solicitor and give them details of your training.

Thirdly - Regular drop off or one-off?

If you were going to somewhere that you regularly go to, with a regular load, then your accident free history of deliveries can be used against you. If not, then you may be able to argue that there was a difference in this job that caused you to have the accident.

I wish you all the very best with your claim and hope that everything works out with your injury.