£61,000 secured for Barnsley man following workplace crush injury

A Barnsley man has secured £61,000 in compensation following an accident at work with the support of Thompsons Solicitors.

Mick France, 51, worked as an angle punch operator for Galglass Limited in Barnsley, where he would programme a machine to automatically punch holes into sections of metal. After the machine had finished punching the holes in one of the metal sheets he put his hand in to pull it out, but the punch came down again and crushed his right hand.

Mick suffered a fracture to his middle finger and lacerations to his index finger. He had an operation to insert wires into his fractured finger to strengthen it and a skin graft to replace the damaged skin on both fingers.

He was off work following the accident and when he returned he found that, even though he tried other jobs and other employers, the pain and limited movement in his hand meant he had to give up engineering work and take alternative non manual work.

Mick contacted Thompsons Solicitors to make an accident at work compensation claim.

“My hand still feels very sensitive, especially in the cold weather,” he said. “I don’t think this will ever change. The surgeons did what they could to repair the bones and skin but the damage had already been done, and I’ve had to move away from a field of work that I knew well and was trained in solely because of a fault with the machine I was using.

“I worry that the pain and lack of movement in my hand will only get worse with age, but I know that I can at least put the settlement to one side and let it pay for any medical costs or treatment I may need in the future.”

Phil Kyte, of Thompsons Solicitors, added: “Mick suffered a career-changing injury because of unsafe machinery at Galglass, but we were able to reach an agreement and settle the claim so he has some financial security into the future.

“Anyone injured at work can speak with our legal team with no obligation and no cost to see if they may be entitled to compensation.”