Fife dad with career-ending back injury secures life-changing compensation

It was nearing midnight on Chris's night shift when his workplace accident happened.

The family man from Fife was a production operator employed for over a decade by Greenfold Systems Limited. He was responsible for helping to build double-decker buses.

Walking along the top of a seven-foot-high platform known as a jig, the 40-year-old was setting up to fit safety railings when he stepped on unstable boards and fell backwards onto the concrete floor.

The dad-of-three recalled: “The accident happened really fast – I was in shock and honestly more embarrassed than anything else at first.

“My colleague got me a chair but once I sat down I remember not being able to get up. My back was in agony.”

Chris managed to make his way home where his wife, Michelle, prompted him to go to the hospital.

An X-ray was performed by medics at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and Chris was told he had strained his lower spine and it would heal with rest – but a follow-up call the next day confirmed he had actually sustained a fracture to his lumbar spine with a wedge fracture at the L2 vertebrae and an avulsion fracture of the L4 transverse process.

Chris said: “I was in so much pain but I tried to go back to work a couple of weeks after the accident – as you can imagine it’s really worrying when money stops coming in and you’ve got a family to support.

“I could only manage a few hours a day at most though and that was on light duties. I’m a hard worker and don’t like taking time off, but I had to stop for the sake of my health.

“I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t drive my kids to any of their clubs, couldn’t walk the dogs or help around the house. My mental health definitely took a beating.”

The dad-of-three got in touch with Digby Brown for help with a workplace accident claim where Ryan Smith, Partner in our Kirkcaldy office, took on the case and investigated the circumstances of the incident.

He gathered medical evidence needed to prove the 40-year-old’s injuries were a direct result of the accident and secured expert medical reports which concluded that his lower back pain would be permanent and it would be unlikely he could return to a job where heavy lifting was involved.  

Ryan also gathered key witness evidence from colleagues working with Chris the night of the accident to confirm what happened.

From there, Ryan built a case which argued Greenfold Systems Limited failed to conduct proper risk assessments that would have prevented the incident.

Chris’s employer denied fault and put forward the argument that he was making a fraudulent claim - and that the accident did not happen. They later suggested that Chris intentionally hurt himself to avoid an upcoming change to his working pattern.

However, Ryan had obtained the necessary evidence to refute all of this - he assured Chris that his employer had failed in their duty of care to protect its workers and that he had done the right thing seeking help. 

Chris said: “I’d worked there for over 10 years and they made me feel worthless.

“They went to great lengths to try and shift the blame. They sent Ryan a picture of the jig I supposedly worked on – but it was from a different factory altogether and showed best practice.

“It was as if they were taking the claim personally. Even though I knew any settlement I got would come from their insurer they were acting as if it was coming out of their own pocket.

“I was really glad I had Ryan in my corner.”

A court case was duly – and rightly – raised in the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest civil court, meaning Greenfold Systems Limited could now not avoid dealing with the claim properly.

Three weeks before the court hearing was due to begin, a pre-trial meeting was held where Chris’s employer continued to make allegations which were unsubstantiated – like suggesting he told bosses the accident was his fault when text messages confirmed this was not accurate.

When presented with the extensive evidence Ryan had gathered, insurers for Greenfold Systems Limited admitted liability and made a substantial offer to settle the claim.

Ryan knew this amount considered Chris’s situation fully including past and future loss of earnings and physiotherapy treatment costs – and Chris happily accepted the offer.

He said: “Ryan went above and beyond for me. I was ready to give up at times because of how my work were treating me but Ryan was on my side and reassured me I had a right to make a claim.

“It wasn’t about the money for me, it was about holding my employer accountable, but when Ryan told me the settlement amount, I was in total shock.

“Knowing I can’t return to manual labour work – the work I’ve done all my life – definitely took it’s toll on me, but the settlement gives me and my family peace of mind.

“If you’re not sure whether you’ve got a claim or not I’d say, make that call and trust the process. 

“It will all be worth it.”