The HSE website states that driving as part of your work is one of the most dangerous things a worker can do. This means that delivery drivers are at particular risk of injury whilst at work.
Machinery and equipment accidents
Laura Williamson, personal injury solicitor at Enable Law recently acted for a client who worked as an HGV driver delivering forklifts. One day he was loading a forklift into an HGV trailer. He drove the forklift in, put the handbrake on, and got out to strap it down as he normally would. Unfortunately, the handbrake was faulty, and the forklift started rolling back. He tried to get back in but became trapped between the forklift and the curtain of the lorry. He suffered a nerve injury to his right arm as well as soft tissue injuries to his chest and arm and fractured ribs. He spent 4 days in hospital and was unable to work for around 5 months.
When our client’s employer investigated the incident, it came to light that the forklift had just come back from a period of hire and should have been tagged as requiring inspection before being used again. Had a safe system been in place the inspection would have picked up the faulty handbrake.
We were able to bring a claim against our client’s employer and their insurer quickly admitted liability. The client returned to work after 5 months, but we were able to recover the earnings he had lost while he was on sick leave and he continued to work for the same company, despite bringing a claim against them. The employer changed their practices to avoid the incident being repeated.
Curb side accidents
Sometimes delivery drivers are injured even when their employer has adequate systems in place. We acted for a client who delivered and installed household goods and electrical equipment. On the day of his accident, he was unloading a mattress from the back of his van when a car coming from the opposite direction drove into it crashing on the side of the van, hitting the tail-lift. Our client was leaning against the tail-lift and in the collision, he was thrown to the floor, injuring both knees and hitting his head on the ground. Fortunately, although he required 12 stiches to his scalp, he recovered well from his head injury, sustaining only a mild concussion. However, the damage to his knees meant he was unable to return to work and he was made redundant after several months as it became clear that he would no longer be able to do his previous role. The driver of the car that caused the crash had fallen asleep at the wheel.
We were therefore able to bring a claim against the driver’s insurer who quickly admitted liability on the driver’s behalf. We obtained an interim payment to help our client with his household bills and living expenses as he was unable to earn any money, and we were able to secure funding from the Defendant insurer for physiotherapy, an MRI scan to fully investigate our client’s injuries, psychological therapy to help with the depression brought on by the accident. A case manager was also engaged to help manage and coordinate the client’s treatment.
Road traffic accidents
Delivery drivers are also of course at risk whilst driving as well as whilst loading and unloading goods. Another client was injured when a vehicle collided with the rear of his van whilst he was on route to deliver tins of paint.
He worked for a paint manufacturer carrying out deliveries and slowed down when a car ahead stopped to allow another car to emerge from a junction. Unfortunately, the car behind him failed to notice the traffic had slowed and drove into the back of his van at approximately 40mph. Our client sustained soft tissue injuries to his neck and shoulder, which in time developed into a frozen shoulder. He was made redundant due to his injuries and was off work for about a year before getting a job with another paint supplier.
As the delivery van had some pre-existing damage the Defendant claimed that it had been involved in another accident, and they disputed our client’s injuries all stemmed from this accident. The Defendant also claimed the impact had been minimal and not severe enough to have caused a serious injury. Delivery vans are more likely to have pre-existing damage as they are driven much more than a domestic vehicle. The owner of a fleet vehicle may also be less concerned about the cosmetic look of vehicles and therefore not bother to have small bumps and scrapes repaired.
One advantage of a delivery vehicle however is that they are often fitted with dashcams which means any accident will be caught on camera. In both this and the curb side accident above the vans were fitted with dash cameras. That meant we could use the footage to prove what happened.
How we can help
We have represented many delivery drivers who have sustained serious injury whilst at work, either through the fault of their employer, or another road user. If you have been affected by something similar do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your options. All discussion are confidential and free of charge. Your employer will not be notified that you have sought legal advice until the point you decide you are happy to go ahead with making a claim. To have a free discussion with Laura Williamson or a member of our team call us on 0800 044 8488 or fill in our contact form so we can call you back at a time convenient for you.
