Mother's relief as blinded welder wins court battle
THE mother of a man who was left blinded and with serious brain injuries when he was hit on the head by a five-and-a-half tonne metal sheet at a Sheffield factory spoke this week of her relief at a High Court decision that will help her finance his care.
The company Mark Downs worked for, Hadee Engineering Ltd in Halfway, was found 100% liable for the accident, which also left him paralysed down his left side and losing his sense of smell and taste.
Mr Downs, a welder, was crossing the factory floor in October 2007 when the sheet, which was being manoeuvred in a tandem lift, swung out of position and knocked him against a steel skip.
He suffered a deep skull fracture, brain contusions, a haemorrhage and multiple fractures to both eye sockets.
Twice resuscitated on the way to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, he underwent a 16-hour operation in which titanium plates were inserted into his skull in order to protect his brain from further damage.
He remained at the Royal Hallamshire for three months before being transferred to the Northern General Hospital for neuro-rehabilitation.
Mr Downs, aged 39, of Eckington, has had to undergo extensive rehabilitation but it is still expected that he will need lifelong assistance.
His mother Sandra instructed brain injury experts from law firm Irwin Mitchell to investigate a claim against Hadee Engineering.
Although Mr Downs was using a designated walkway when the accident occurred, his employers refused to accept full liability for the incident.
Mr Downs' family took the claim to trial at Sheffield High Court, where Mr Justice MacDuff QC ruled that the employers were fully liable for the accident.
He criticised Hadee Engineering for breaching a number of health and safety regulations at the time of the accident.
These include failing to supervise the tandem lift properly, not carrying out a risk assessment, not holding a written method statement, operating without a banksman or supervisor and failing to train one of the crane drivers properly.
He also ruled that Mr Downs was entitled to 100% of the final settlement for his injuries, which is now being calculated to cover his rehabilitation and lifelong care needs.
Sandra Downs said: "We are very relieved at the outcome of the trial. We are pleased that we have been able to move one step closer to getting the funding we need for Mark's care and rehabilitation in the future."
Rachael Aram, a brain injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell, said: "Mark's rehabilitation is ongoing. He is undertaking further speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy in the community and has received assistance from the Royal Society for the Blind. He's also currently on the waiting list for a guide dog to assist his independence in the community.
"This horrific accident should never have happened and had Mr Downs' employers followed basic health and safety regulations it would have been avoided."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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