Case histories

£133,000 damages for nursing assistant assaulted by patient

Our nursing assistant Unite Scotland member client was assaulted by a patient. Personal alarms provided to staff were not working. While she suffered some physical injuries, the most serious injury was psychiatric.

While pursuing the case, we helped with efforts to assist the member's recovery. This included sourcing therapists who could provide treatments recommended by a psychiatric expert and securing interim payments to help pay for them.

Despite earlier substantial offers, the member accepted our advice to press ahead with further negotiations. The full final value of the settlement was £133,000.

£10,000 compensation secured for delivery worker who suffered back injury

After delivering kegs into a pub cellar, our Unite Scotland member client closed the door, only to find the concrete around the door disintegrating. He was left supporting the full weight of the door to stop it falling into the cellar, and as a result he suffered a back injury. The pub company sought to evade liability as the member's colleague did not recall the accident, and he had not consulted his doctor at the time. 
 


As he appeared to us to be a very credible, straightforward individual, we pressed on with the case, raising proceedings on his behalf. An initial offer of £6,000 was made. Through our negotiation this was increased to £8,000, then £9,100. 

We lodged a formal proposal to settle for £10,000, which was successful.

£35,000 compensation for bottling plant worker who suffered hearing loss and tinnitus


Our Unite Scotland member client was employed for many years within a bottling plant where hearing protection only became enforced later than it should have been, in breach of the relevant regulations. The member suffered some hearing loss and tinnitus as a result. A court action had to be raised on his behalf, but after a few months his employer admitted liability. After extensive negotiations, we settled the claim for £35,000. 

In achieving such a high settlement, we were able to rely on a new chapter within The Judicial College Guidelines, which allows extra compensation to be awarded where the need for hearing aids has been caused by work-related hearing loss. This is in addition to the cost of the hearing aids themselves, which can also be claimed (which we did for the member).

£225,000 damages negotiated for Unite Scotland member kicked by cattle

While organising cattle into a pen, our Unite Scotland member client was kicked by an agitated cow. He sustained a serious triple ankle fracture and was rendered unfit for work for a time.

The employer’s insurers admitted liability for the accident. We obtained extensive expert evidence to prove the member's losses, including reports from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, a vocational consultant and an actuary. Negotiations commenced and an offer of £190,000 was made.

The member was pleased with that sum but was persuaded to allow further discussions to take place as we were optimistic that we could secure more. We were delighted to achieve a final settlement of £225,000.

Aircraft mechanic awarded £16,500 damages for occupational hearing loss and noise-induced tinnitus

A Unite Scotland member employed as an aircraft mechanic by an airline at a Scottish airport was diagnosed with occupational hearing loss and noise-induced tinnitus due to excessive exposure to noise during his employment.

The member was exposed to aircraft engine noise as well as the noise of his own and his co-workers’ tools, including rivet guns, hammers, drills, sanders and heavy impact guns. He was exposed to noise levels of up to 115 decibels for at least several hours a day, sufficient to damage his hearing.

As well as struggling to follow conversations, he developed severe tinnitus, which significantly disturbed his sleep and had an adverse effect on his quality of life. 

As the airline refused to settle the claim, we raised a court action. With liability and causation in dispute, we instructed a noise expert called an acoustician, who deemed the noise levels to be negligent, as well as a medical expert, who assessed that the noise exposure was responsible for the onset of tinnitus.

An initial offer of £8,000 was rejected, and we pressed on with proceedings. A second offer of £12,325 was advanced, which again we rejected. Following further negotiations, the case ultimately settled for £16,500, more than double the initial proposal.