A LORRY driver badly hurt when his vehicle overturned in high winds has won an £86,000 out-of-court settlement from his former employer.
Brian Young, 54, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, suffered a compound double wrist fracture, a shattered ankle and shin, and lacerations to his face after his lorry hit a stone wall on the A68 in February 2008.
Mr Young , who worked for transport firm TDG, was driving a 15ft high HGV loaded with empty plastic bottles from Consett to Bells Hill, near Glasgow, and was trapped in the cab for some time.
Rachel di Clemente, industrial injury expert at Newcastle-based personal injury law firm Irwin Mitchell, began legal action against TDG, which had eight lorries overturn in high winds that year.
She said the vehicle was too light and that the firm should not have sent drivers out to work that day.
She said the firm’s pay-out was a "significant conclusion’, even though TDG did not admit liability, and that it would force haulage firms to recognise their duty to protect HGV drivers and the public in bad weather.
"The weather had been terrible that month and there had been several deaths on UK roads as a result of high winds – the entire country had been battered by gales.
"This claim was a difficult fight but it was worth pursuing – Mr Young was trying to earn a decent living when he was exposed to a risk which would have been unacceptable in any other area of work.
"Weather is a hazard which is guarded against in other industrial situations, such as employees slipping on ice, or construction workers carrying out work at height in high winds.
"There is a widespread misconception that employees working behind a wheel enjoy less protection from Health and Safety imposed upon employers."
Mr Young said: "I will never work again as a result of my injuries but this was never about the money to me. I wanted to highlight the dangers posed to haulage companies in high winds and want to prevent similar accidents from happening again in the future.
"The risks posed to the drivers themselves, not to mention other road users, are huge. I am lucky to be alive but others were not so lucky – haulage companies must put the safety of their drivers before making money when conditions take a turn for the worse."
No-one was available to comment at the firm.
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