On May 1st 2004 I had an accident while delivering mail.
Basically what happened was that I tripped over a metal gate stop when there was no gates to stop!!
The resultant injuries, mainly to my back, resulted in Royal Mail medically retiring me long before retirement age.
Finally at long last my solicitors have secured a settlement of a hell of a lot more than I ever expected.
OK the money is going to come in very useful but the fact remains that I am still unable to lift anything but the lightest weight, I can no longer go swimming and in fact my social life has been shot to hell.
I guess this is why I got more than I expected because as well as claim for injuries, my solicitor went for pain/suffering/loss of job prospects and a whole lot more.
In all honesty I never in my wildest dreams expected such a pay out.
There’s an urban legend of sorts running around my parents’ town of people who try to have accidents at work that will leave them on disability benefit for the rest of their lives :dubious:
Yes I also get that plus Industrial Injuries Benefit and Incapacity Benefit.
Dunno about trying to get injured, that seems a bit drastic if you ask me. Personally I’d rather work than be bored out of my skull for long periods of time.
I know someone from work here who tried to sue the NEC because she tripped over and broke her wrist. What she was crowing about to everyone else (and neglected to tell the NEC) was that she’d just come out of the ski/snow show and was carrying so much stuff she couldn’t see where she was going.
I sincerely hope the NEC’s solicitors laughed her out of court.
Indeed, conrgats and pass the Vindaloo. For all of my dislike of insurance companies, it’s nice to see that they really do sometimes pay out handsomely when it’s really needed.
Good for you, but sorry you still have pain. Are you at “maximum medical improvement”? That’s what they call it here, when you’re as good as you’re going to get. Would continued therapy help you?
What happens to you now? Was the settlement enough to live on for the rest of your life or will you have to try to find work? Is it enough for you to start a small business? Or do you get a lump sum now and regular payments (like a pension) forever? Did the Royal Mail try to put you in another job, one that you could do with your restrictions?
Yep, I’m snoopy and curious about the differences between job injuries in the US and the UK.
AuntiePam I am still having both Physio and Hydrothery courses, sometimes the pain isn’t as bad as the day/s previous but at other times it’s bloody agony.
F’rinstance, not so long ago it took me almost 1 hour to go to and return from our local corner shop, a distance of maybe 300 yards.
It got so bad I had to call my doctor and he faxed thru a prescription to my chemist for heavy duty painkillers. The doc called to see me a day later and gave me another script for muscle relaxents. Both these helped a bit but boy did the zonk me out plus they gave me the most terrible shits.
As for having enough to live on for the rest of my naturals. I reckon I have. You see my wife died some years ago and the insurance settlement from that plus our savings plus the latest cash injection means that i’m fairly comfortable.
Royal Mail did find me an indoors job but I was only able to stick this for 1 day, It involved a lot of lifting and was a 12 hour night shift, this was totally out of the question so far as my health was concerned and I guess they realised that hence the medical retirement which again meant i received from them a fairly decent sum of money.
I’m also in receipt of a monthly pension from Royal Mail which is slighly under £300 per calendar month.
Yes I got a lump sum today but I was asked some 3 weeks ago if I would like regular monthly payments. I turned this down as in the event of my (early) death it was not transferrable. I figured a bird in the hand was a better option.
As far as a finacial advisor goes Zebra I’ve got 2, a son and a brother both are level headed
For all of my dislike of insurance companies, it’s nice to see that they really do sometimes pay out handsomely when it’s really needed.