A roofing and cladding sub-contractor facing a lifetime of acute disability after crashing through a skylight on a warehouse roof yesterday settled his High Court compensation case and is to receive £450,000.
Michael John Brand, 46, of Taverham, near Norwich, suffered severe brain injuries as well as a fractured pelvis, a cut to his liver and a punctured lung when he fell about five metres onto a concrete floor in February 2004.
He sued the owners and occupiers of the warehouse at Rougham, near Bury St Edmunds - BOCM Pauls Ltd, based in Ipswich - and Roy Allen (Engineering) Ltd, of Stanley Road, Diss, who the court heard Mr Brand was working for at the time. Both defendants denied all blame.
Mr Brand’s barrister, Stephen Killalea QC, said his client was fit and well before the accident but has now been left with a catalogue of complications from the injuries to his brain.
As well as suffering a distressing change in his personality, he will never be able to return to work or live independently and will require lifelong care.
Mr Killalea told Judge Reid QC how Mr Brand and his brother, Robert, were clearing thick moss and other debris in preparation for the replacement of the central section of the warehouse roof when Mr Brand slipped and fell through a skylight, suffering “catastrophic” injuries.
Before the settlement was reached there was argument over whether Mr Brand, who worked as a steel erector, sheeter and cladder, was an employee of Roy Allen (Engineering) Ltd, or merely a subcontractor. Both the engineering company and BOCM Pauls Ltd denied any liability for the accident.
Speaking after the case, Mr Brand’s solicitor, Hannah Rutterford, of Kester Cunningham John, said: “Mr Brand is obviously unable to turn the clock back but his family is keen for this tragic incident to highlight the importance of employers carrying out proper risk assessments and ensuring sufficient health and safety procedures are in place.”
She explained that while Mr Brand has made a full recovery from some of his injuries, such as the fractured pelvis, the serious brain injury has left him with a range of ongoing problems and largely wheelchair dependant.
He is still living in a rehabilitation unit five years after the accident
