Is DH BU?

[mulledoverwine]

DH had an accident at work a few months ago caused by something being set up incorrectly by a 3rd party contractor. I'm being purposefully vague to avoid outing.

It has resulted in long lasting damage that may or not get better. He has reduced mobility in a limb and has been advised by an HCP that he currently only has 50% use of it and is going for further tests to find out the extent of the damage.

This has affected him mentally and obviously physically. He is constantly in pain and overuse makes it worse which affects his ability to do his job properly as it is an active role. It affects every part of his daily life and he has had to adapt how he does things.

He has been depressed over it and it has affected his personality in terms of him being irritable and with no patience. The exact opposite of his "normal" personality.

This is the IHBU part. He has been to see a solicitor about an insurance claim however he keeps changing his mind as morally it doesn't sit comfortably with him.

And my concern is will it affect his job if he puts in a claim?

Do you think he is being unreasonable to have a solicitor take this further with his employer?

Someone will have to pick up the tab for physio, medical care, early retirement, etc. If he wants to consider it from a moral point of view should this be the taxpayer or the company at fault (and their insurers)?

This is actually a huge point of contention in tort. Patrick Atiyah, formerly Professor of English Law, University of Oxford, makes the point that if you are hit by a car and injured, the care required is the same regardless of the driver's monetary worth (or insurance status).

If it was caused by a third party your husbands company can retro claim off them anyway OR support him to claim directly from them.In theory anyone undertaking work in their premises should have public liability insurance so if they are at fault they should pay.

In the nicest possible way, if your husband does not meet the standards the company need-due to his injury and no fault of his own- I doubt the company would think twice about letting him go due to ill heath etc.
The compensation will give your family a security incase the situation happens where he no longer has job security.
And legally they are no allowed to let any claim DH takes impact on his job. That is victimisation.
Keep reassuring your husband this is what he is entitled to as sadly he will never be the same as before the accident.
Hugs to you both

There was a massive effort a few years back to manipulate public opinion to make it seem that insurance claims were frivolous and selfish. It really worked
What the hell is the point of paying out insurance all those years if youre not even going to claim when youre entitled to it and need it.

This is a total no brainer. Of course he should claim! My father stood on an unfixed paving stone and broke his arm in two places. He was also worried about compensation culture, especially as he lived in a city with the highest amount of false injury claims in the uk, and as a semi public figure he was afraid of ridicule. I finally persuaded him and he got a fairly decent pay out. Unfortunately the injury finished his career soon after and he died a year after he was forced to retire early.however the money he got helped him immeasurably, and his final years allowed him some comfort especially as his pension was tiny because of early retirement. And no one blamed him one iota for claiming as he was clearly a genuine case. It’s only the con artists people hate, who ruin it for everyone else.

he should claim as you said this is a long term injury,
he may in years to come have some degeneration due to the injuries suffered and need an operation to further correct things ( and if like us in NZ even though the original accident might be covered degeneration is not covered even if it can be proved it is linked to the first accident) ,
or need renovations to the house to make it easier for him do things, like bathrooms or ramps or motorized wheelchair/scooter etc,

the money he could get could be invested for that day it is needed or used now for extra physio or surgery etc
Remind him the compensation isnt just for today, its to cover his possible needs, due to the injury, in the years to come

Any decent injury claim lawyer will do an assesment on your DH's case and work out the chances of the claim being upheld. They will then advise DH of the results, whether they are prepared to take him on and the risks involved. It's worth talking to a specialist firm and taking advice, he may wel, regret not talking to someone.

This.
Also, don't accept a token settlement. I knew someone who did this and when his condition progressed and years later he was no longer able to work as a result of the accident he wasn't able to sue them as that was part of the settlement agreement.

I think your DH employer is being negligent here, I am surprised they are not falling over themselves to assist him in his recovery and investigating the third party. Don’t delay in getting help, your DH is entitled to protection at work.

It's possible that the employer and the contractor could both be sued. The legal teams, or if necessary the Judge, will decide regarding any ratio of blame there might be.

I mean apportion blame between the two companies,if necessary. For example 60/40, 80/20 or 100% by one of the companies.

I really would urge your DH to go ahead with the claim. As pp have said, consideration needs to be given to the future and there's also a chance your DH may be able to get some private treatment agreed in the interim. His employer sounds awful - laughing at him whilst he is in pain, caused by an injury at work which wasn't his fault. That would make me concerned about how they will treat your DH in the long-term if the injury worsens/the pain increases.

Your DH INBU. Thisbisnoneof those cases where there is a clear fault and a genuine reason to claim. As PP have said, think about the future. His life has changed as he knows it. Even if he really doesn't want to do it for the money, do it to make sure his work makes changes in the future to avoid this happening again.

I know how he feels but he must think of the future. I still have pain from an accident that wasn't my fault. I was told I might be in a wheelchair in seven years. I was 't but obviously it is still a possibility in the future because it was a spinal injury. I also get severe headaches and get tired easily. I can't do some activities for long that I love. I was told never to ride again...my passion. Why shouldn't I be compensated for this change to my life. Why shouldn't your husband and remind him it is the family too not just him that suffers. His future earnings may change. Where will he be in ten years time. I put mine away for the future in case I need help in the house or home adjustments. I didn't get much as I wouldn't take the risk of going to court as only one witness came forward and she was with me at the time. There were a number of other people at the time, no- one called the police when it was an offence and no one came forward afterwards. I was too dazed and shocked to think about it and the drive spoke to me then drove off. No one sought medical attention for me at the scene and I went that night which compromised my case. Your husbands is clear cut and he should get a considerable pay out and why shouldn't he because they have changed his life.
People sometimes talk about blame culture and I list my injuries and inability to do some sports and difficulties then ask them what would they do and not one has said I still don't think you should've claimed.
This company will have insurance for this purpose.
He has three years unless it has changed to start the process in the meantime log every trip, get cards from taxi fares etc I didn't initially and paid out quite a lot in fares. My solicitor was young and not very good. They passed me down the line three times. Make sure you get an experienced one. Why not go for an initial visit you can stop the process anytime. Once he has spoken to one he may change his mine. There is no way that money compensated for the change in my life but it did and will pay for some help to ease my situation. I wanted to continue to study as a teacher and it put paid to that but because I hadn't officially applied it was disregarded your husband might not be able to continue in his job. That will affect the whole family.

Thank you everyone for your responses.

He's at breaking point and has been prescribed anti depressants and something else for the pain. She has said that she will sign him off work which I think would be best for him mentally. He doesn't want to land his work in it as it's their busiest time of year He doesn't get any sick pay so we'd need to borrow on credit to get through.

He spoke to a very senior manager yesterday and explained everything again to them and they were enraged about the other member of management who made that comment and said they'd make whatever adjustments he needed and some other stuff. Though they did say him taking time off might not be best as he'd just be ruminating at home and thinking about everything... But he needs time to rest the injury as it's exacerbated with the work he does. Plus he's ready to snap at work which could be worse long term!!

So they’re still not taking it seriously now, are they? Just lip service really. It sounds as though he needs to rest and to get a proper assessment. Can you organise this through the gp? The response so far is positively Victorian.

Look, this is just a job. Your DH's loyalty is commendable, but he needs to take a step back from this and have a serious look at how the firm are treating him.

• Nasty comments - and from HR of all people!
• No support or follow-up despite the fact he's had an accident at work.
• No assessment of whether he is actually fit to carry on working. This one in particular is very serious. If he has reduced mobility and pain then he's not fit to work and leaving him in place with no support or supervision could be dangerous - not only to your DH but also to other people within the working environment.

The company sound slack and extremely unprofessional. Employee safety is absolutely paramount and he should have been encouraged to see a GP early on, monitored and if he was showing signs of distress/pain - which they would have picked up if they were bothering to monitor him - then he should have been told that he needed to be signed off. The accident, by the sounds of it, should have also been RIDDOR reportable, but I suspect that they are using his continued presence at work to swerve round that.

He needs to see a GP today and get signed off. He also needs to ensure that he is honest with them about whatever problems or pain he is having, so that this is documented. Then he needs to see a solicitor - and you need someone who is good with workplace injuries and liability (Irwin Mitchell are good).

This is not about 'claiming compo'. People like your DH are exactly the people who NEED the coverage that comes with a negligence claim. It's not just about a wodge of money in your bank account - the firm's insurance can also arrange and cover the costs of private physio, x-rays, counselling etc.

There is a lot of support that can be put in place; a good employer would be doing this anyway. But as your DH's firm quite frankly sound irresponsible and dangerous, he will need someone to fight his corner - which is what a solicitor will do.

I'm saying this BTW as someone who is on the other side from the 'ambulance chasers'. A genuine claimant like your DH is exactly the kind of person that we want to help.

Forgot to say, if you have any specific concerns or questions then please feel free to PM me.