TRIPS, SLIPS AND FALLS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2023 :: RMTnews 26 LEGAL An RMT member has secured compensation after suffering an injury while working as a train dispatcher for First MTR South Western Trains Limited. Having been in a conversation with the train’s driver on a platform at London Waterloo Station the member turned to walk towards the middle of the train. As he did so, he tripped on a raised portion of tarmac on the platform, twisting his left ankle and also injuring his right knee. The member reported the accident to the station manager on the same day, and the raised portion of tarmac was repaired the day after. As a result of the fall, the member suffered pain and discomfort from a sprain to his left ankle and a minor soft tissue injury to his right knee, resulting in an area of numbness over the joint. The member instructed specialist lawyers at Thompsons through the RMT legal assistance scheme to pursue a claim against his employer for compensation for the injuries and losses he suffered as a result of this accident. Thompsons provided the member with detailed advice about the case, and submitted a claim to the employer, arguing that the employer had failed to ensure that the surface of the platform was kept completely flat, without any raised portions of tarmac and that by failing to do so they had created a trip hazard. After investigating the claim, the employer admitted liability for the accident. Thompsons instructed an Accident and Emergency Consultant to prepare a medical report detailing the nature and extent of the injuries suffered by the member, and drafted a schedule listing his losses. Following correspondence and detailed negotiations with the employer’s insurer, a settlement was agreed and the member was awarded damages of £1,000.00 without the need for court proceedings. The fact that Thompsons recovered damages for the member’s relatively minor injuries shows that the value of the RMT’s legal assistance scheme and that the union is there to support all its injured members, including in cases which claims companies and no-win no-fee solicitors would refuse to take on given its relatively low value. SLIPPING ON ICE Through the RMT legal scheme, Thompsons Solicitors helped a member secure compensation after he slipped and fell at work. The member was injured when walking to his train at Cardiff Central Station. He was using the safe walking route when he slipped on ice. He suffered a chipped bone in his right wrist as well as pain, bruising and tenderness to the right side of his ribs, and restricted mobility. Thompsons argued that his employer had failed to monitor the conditions and grit the pavement as it should have done, creating an avoidable risk of injury. The employer’s insurers admitted liability for the accident and medical evidence was obtained and the defendants settled out of court. The settlement sum recognised three weeks of hand pain, three months of pain from the rib injury discomfort in the wrist in the winter following the accident and the additional family support he needed following the accident. TRIPS, SLIPS AND FALLS RMT members regularly win compensation cases handled by the union for falls in the workplace