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How An Accident Led To Me Making A Compensation Claim
It's easy to feel like some kind of pariah if you're in the process of a compensation claim; the media is constantly bemoaning Britain's 'compensation culture' and many people will look at you like you're exaggerating the extent of your injury to avoid working for a living. Though many claimants do not fit this classification at all, the perception is there and it's difficult to break.
I had been working as a plumber for many years and I was in a major hardware chain store to buy some supplies when a heavy box fell from the top shelf onto my shoulder. It knocked me to the floor and I felt an excruciating pain where the box had hit me. The store wasn't particularly busy but all the shoppers and floor staff head the noise and came along to see what had happened. I was getting back to my feet by the time they arrived, but I knew something wasn't quite right with the shoulder it hit.
I would normally have just shaken it off and gone back to work but I really couldn't move my arm and the pain was immense. I looked under my shirt and saw that my arm was very heavily bruised, but also seemed to be a little out of shape. My assistant insisted that I go to hospital and for once I agreed with him.
I had my assistant drive the van to the hospital while I took enough ibuprofen to numb an elephant and we were soon sat waiting in the accident and emergency ward. After a doctor poked and prodded my shoulder and then took an X-ray, he told me that the impact had shattered the part of my collarbone that it hit and had broken my shoulder too. There would be no working for me for quite a while as the healing of these bones would take quite some time.
Both my assistant and the letting agent I was working for suggested I claim for compensation - they thought I should complain because I was unable to work because of negligence on someone else's part. It was nothing to do with a 'compensation claim culture,' it was just that the box should never have been put so precariously on a shelf that high; it was just a matter of time before it fell on someone, and as I was unable to do a job which pays by the hour, I was going to suffer financially by being off work.
I met with a local solicitor who specialised in personal injuries and I had a free consultation to discuss my compensation claim from the store. He was personable and seemed professional and confident about the chances of winning my case, which helped me decide to go ahead with the claim.
The claim has now been registered and with the legal proceedings just about to start, I still have limited mobility in my shoulder and am still in a lot of pain. I'm starting to feel like I may never get back to my old job full time, but with the financial aid I am receiving and the possibility of some compensation I can look into other options such as teaching or even retraining.
Though I initially felt bad about becoming part of the 'compensation culture,' my claim has given me the opportunity to move on from my injury and hopefully will encourage the store to take better care of their storage so that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
About the Author Thomas Pretty is a plumber with who recently experienced an injury while shopping for supplies and claimed for compensation. Find out more about making a compensation claim at http://www.stewartslaw.com/
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