21.11.2005

£3.7 million award for scaffold fall

The High court awarded compensation of £3.7 million on Friday, to Wayne Ashley Moore, 38 from Norfolk for the "very severe brain injury" he suffered after falling around 12 metres from a scaffold.

Moore was working at the Corus steel plant in Ijmuiden, Holland, in 2000 when he fell more than 12 metres from a scaffold because a hand rail on the scaffolding platform had come out its socket.

The High court was told that he would never be able to work again, barrister Nicholas Yell said the accident had changed Mr Moore's personality and he would always need to be looked after by others.

Mr Justice Eady heard that the fall has left him with numerous fractures and a "very severe brain injury and that he still suffers side effects from the fall, including a loss of smell and impaired vision.

SGB Holland BV, which supplied the scaffolding, agreed to pay the £3.7m.

Moore's mother, Sheila, said: "Hopefully the money will enable Wayne not only to have the care he needs on a daily basis but will go some way towards helping him enjoy life as much as he did before the accident."

His solicitor, Damian Short, added: "With the money it has been possible to buy and adapt a house suitable for Wayne's needs and employ the team of carers needed to help him with his daily life."