11th July 2007

Compensation for driver with thumb crushed by train door

A train driver had his right thumb crushed as he tried to close a train door. He had twice tried to close it with his left hand but it bounced back. He then tried to close it with both hand as his right hand had more strength. In doing so his right thumb was crushed as it overhung the side of the door on the doorframe. The design of the door handle was such that using the left hand was the safest way of doing so to avoid the thumb sticking out. It was accepted that there must have been something wrong with the door, as it should have closed, there being no obstruction.

Evidence of many injuries involving the door type was produced, but the defendants argued that there had only been five accidents in three years, representing only 0.001% of the 468,000 times these types of doors had been closed. The judge accepted that this statistical risk was too small to demonstrate a design failure.

Hearing from the defendant’s witness on Regulation 5 of PUWER that problems might have been fixed on routine maintenance the judge concluded that the accident had been caused because something had not been working correctly. No contributory negligence was found.

Compensation Claim

Clear Answers’ lawyers have teams of experts waiting to help you, should you decide to instruct us to represent you in your claim. We specialise in all types of personal injury claims, whether you were injured as a result of an accident at work, or whether your accident happened in a public place.

The person responsible for your accident will pay our legal fees, and our service will be cost-free for you. You will receive 100% of your compensation if you select Clear Answers to represent you in this matter.

If you or a family member has been injured in these circumstances, please ring us on 0800 783 9019 and speak to one of our advisers. They will be happy to provide you with expert legal advice, talk you through the claims process in plain English and answer any questions you may have regarding your claim. Alternatively, you may prefer to complete one of our online compensation claim forms and one of our representatives will contact you.

back to news index