Start Your Claim Today

Send us your details, and one of our experts will be in touch.

Successfull form submission tick

Thanks for your details!

One of our legal specialists will review your details and call you back within 24 hours to discuss this further.

Alternatively to speak to a specialist
for FREE call us now on

Successfull form submission tick

Thanks for your feedback!

We take all of our feedback seriously so we can learn what we're doing right, wrong and how we can improve.

If you would like to speak to us regarding your feedback please email us at

College in court after employee suffers life-changing injuries

Burnley College has been in court after one of its employees sustained serious injuries after falling three metres while changing an air filter on an extraction system.

What happened?

In order reach the filter, the 63-year-old engineering technician needed to put his left foot on a cabinet and his right foot on the top rung of a stepladder.

As he did so, the stepladder toppled from under him and he fell sideways, hitting a bench as he fell, breaking his back in several places and fracturing his breastbone.

He was rushed to hospital and required morphine for 12 days to manage the pain. He was off work for five and a half months, and is likely to need to take pain killers every day for the rest of his life.

Though he can now walk short distances, he has had to give up hobbies such as fell walking and carrying out DIY for his 85 year old mother.

An investigation into the incident found that the college had failed to ensure the work was carried out safely, despite specialising in teaching health and safety courses.

The court heard that the employee’s supervisor had seen that he needed to stand on a cabinet in order to reach the filter a week earlier, but hadn’t taken any action to ensure that the work was carried out in a safer way going forward.

What was the outcome?

Burnley College pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £7,600 in costs.

HSE Inspector, Rose Leese-Weller, said:

“It’s astonishing that Burnley College failed to ensure basic health
and safety systems were in place when it employs
lecturers who specialise in this area.

“Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of safety while working at
height would have known straddling a cabinet and the top rung
of a stepladder was dangerous, but this practice was
allowed to continue by the college.

“The extraction system was installed quickly and without thought for
the employees who would need to change the filters. The
technician therefore had no choice but to
reach them in this way.

“If the college had carried out a proper risk assessment in advance
then the unit could have been installed in an area where it could be reached by the mobile elevated work platform, without an employee’s life being put in danger.”

If you have been affected by an accident at work, and you would like expert advice, contact Hampson Hughes Solicitors today on 0800 888 6888 or email

Source: View article

Free Advice

We offer a free legal consultation
to every potential client

No Win No Fee

Many of our claims are offered on
No Win No Fee payment terms

Use our App

Our Free App allows you to
manage your compensation claim

Landscape TrustPilot Widget Mobile Landscape TrustPilot Widget

9/10

of our clients were
completely satisfied

9/10

of our clients would
use us again

9/10

of our clients would
recommend our services

65M

in compensation
recovered for our clients

Screenshot of the Claim Test used to check if you have a claim

Find out how much you can claim with our compensation calculator

It's really quick and easy, find out in 30 seconds.

See what you're owed!
Call us FREE on

or request a call back