Community paramedic Michael Kirkham has received £200,000 in compensation from West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (WMAS) after a fall during work caused him permanent disability, thereby forcing him to quit his job.
The accident occurred in March 2003 when Kirkham, employed with Staffordshire Ambulance Service (SAS), was attending an emergency medical call at the home of a patient. He was using the heavy emergency equipment bag that weighed about 60lbs. Such bags were required to be carried by all personnel of SAS.
Kirkham had previously registered a complaint to his employers regarding the unwieldy size and weight of the bag but without effect. When he was leaving a patient’s home on the ill-fated day, his bag caught on a door handle and caused him to lose balance. He fell down and suffered serious injury on his shoulder.
Kirkham returned to work after a 4 week convalescence period, but he soon developed a severe pain in the back and neck. He also lost feeling in his injured arm. He was forced to quit his job owing to his injuries. Subsequently he had to start using a walking stick. These effects of the injury prompted him to file a claim for compensation.
Speaking about his claim, a spokesperson at WMAS said that they would make sure that such incidents do not occur and will ensure complete safety of employees in future. The claim was accepted by the company, which preferred to settle it out of court. As Kirkham had been in the employment of Staffordshire Ambulance Service that subsequent to the accident merged into WMAS, the latter had to take responsibility for the incident and pay the damages.
It is a requirement to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment on all work undertaken where there is a risk of injury, NEBOSH Training, leading to the award of the NEBOSH Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health, can be of benefit to organisations in providing the knowledge to manage safely and effectively in compliance with both legislative requirements and best practice.
