Bradford County Court
HELD: (1) The difference between S's account in the witness statement and pleading and his account in the witness box was not a matter of minor variation or mere translation. The suggestion that S had acted out of fear of being hit and in a panic was so fundamental to his explanation that it was inconceivable that the first time he would recall or mention it was at trial some two-and-a-half years after the accident. On the balance of probabilities the accident had occurred before the forklift truck had attempted to place the racking in the workshop. It had not occurred as a result of any fear or urgency or necessity on the part of S to move the bench. (2) P had failed to comply with its statutory obligation in reg.4(1)(a). The benches were heavy and awkward to move. P should have considered whether it was reasonably practicable to use either a pallet truck or skates in the first instance rather than man power. Having failed to consider the matter P was unable to adduce any evidence that it was not reasonably practicable to use a pallet truck or skates and thereby avoid the need for a manual handling operation. There was also a breach of reg.4(1)(b) in that no suitable risk assessment was undertaken or steps taken to reduce the risk of injury. However any breach was not causative of the accident. S knew that the benches were heavy and that he could not move them on his own. There was no reasonable explanation as to why S tried to do just that. The accident was caused by S's decision to try to move the bench on his own. He was therefore solely responsible for the injury he had suffered.
Judgment for defendant
LTL 22/1/2007
HEALTH,SAFETY,AT,WORK,PERSONAL,INJURY,EMPLOYMENT
"The ‘capable, efficient, and helpful’ clerks’ room provides ‘a service-orientated approach and goes above and beyond in trying to ensure you have the right barrister for the job ; you have the utmost confidence in the clerking”
"An extremely approachable set of chambers which puts a premium on service delivery"
We are delighted to announce that Ijeoma Omambala QC has been named in The Lawyer Hot 100 2021. Ijeoma specialises…
We are delighted to announce that Turan Hursit, previously of Doughty Street Chambers, has joined Old Square Chambers. Turan brings…
View MoreWilliam Meade (Senior Clerk)
or
Graham Smith (Deputy Senior Clerk)