Fitter awarded £10,000 for back injury

15 December 2008

A mechanical fitter who suffered a slipped disc while attempting to lift a steel end-cover has been awarded £10,000 in compensation.

The 55-year-old man, Gerard Mayne, still employed by Eastman Chemicals of Workington, suffered the injury while manually moving the half-tonne end-cover that was hanging from lifting gear. He was attempting to move it away from a walkway along the side of a machine.

The morning after the incident, he said he felt twinges in his lower back and by the following day couldn’t get out of bed.

“I was so preoccupied that I never put this accident in the accident book,” he said.

Thompsons Solicitors in Newcastle noted that if Eastman Chemicals had carried out a risk assessment and provided permanent lifting gear Mayne’s injuries could have been avoided.