£11,000 Compensation for Refuse Collection Driver

Trevor was a trade refuse collector working for a national company.

He went to collect refuse from a regular customer but was unable to reverse his lorry to collect it because there were cars blocking his path. He therefore maneuvered the lorry closer to the bin before jumping out of his cab in the correct manner. He landed on a sloping wooden ‘roof’ that extended past a border garden onto the main driveway of the car park.

The roof had not been cleaned and Trevor slipped and injured his left leg. Liability was denied by the customer both on the facts of the case and also because the customer denied that their premises were ‘work premises’ for Trevor.  We maintained our argument that there was a claim against the premises under workplace regulations even though Trevor did not work there. 

Liability continued to be denied and Court proceedings commenced.  In the end the Defendants agreed to compensate Trevor to the sum of £11,000.