Worker Awarded Hand Injury Compensation after Skip Accident

A man from Lancashire has been awarded 175,000 pounds in manual handling injury compensation after a skip he was delivering slipped; crushing his hand and resulting in the amputation of his right thumb and index finger.

Heath Riley (45) from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire also lost the use of two other fingers on his right hand due to the accident which occurred in January 2009, when a skip he was delivering on behalf of Burnley firm Enviro Skips Ltd slipped due to being insecurely placed inside of another.

Heath had to have his thumb amputated on site and was rushed to the Royal Preston Hospital for microsurgery to save the use of his hand. Unfortunately, surgeons could not save Heath´s finger which was amputated during the initial operation.

After seeking legal advice, Heath made a claim for manual handling injury compensation on the grounds that the skips which were responsible for the accident were damaged and unsafe to be used. As such, it was dangerous for them to be stacked to go out for delivery.

Heath also claimed that in addition to the pain and suffering he experienced at the time of the accident, he could no longer work in a manual job or engage in leisure pursuits which he enjoyed prior to the accident taking place.

Enviro Skips acknowledged their negligence in providing skips which represented a hazard, and agreed Heath´s manual handling injury compensation claim for 175,000 pounds in an out of-court settlement.