After he filed a work accident claim following an injury he sustained at work, one farm worker was recently awarded a personal injury compensation award of £2,500 from his former employers.
The male farm worker, whose identity was withheld for privacy reasons, became injured in an incident in January of last year as he was topping off the feeding hoppers of a quail shed that held approximately 20,000 quail chicks. According to the man’s personal injury lawyers, he had been traversing the quail shed, bag of feed in hand, when a sudden movement of the quail chicks caused him to misstep.
In an effort not to injure any of the quail chicks, the man moved to the side, causing his head to come into contact with a heating unit that had been suspended from the ceiling of the quail shed. The man suffered an injury to his eye as a result.
The man’s employers, whose name has also been kept confidential by the courts, originally denied any liability for their worker’s injuries, claiming that he had been trained appropriately before being given the assignment to feed the quail chicks. However, the man’s employers later decided to offer him an out of court settlement for £2,500.
A spokesperson from the injured man’s legal team remarked after the settlement on the unusual nature of the case. The accident claim expert remarked that employers are duty bound to ensure their employees are working in an environment that meets healthy and safety requirements, regardless of whether or not those workers are given proper training.
The legal expert added that he was pleased by the settlement figure offered to his client, calling the outcome a quite successful one for the injured man.