The personal injury team at Bartletts Chester office recently helped four shop assistants to win compensation for chest infection symptoms that had been caused by working in an unfit environment.
The four claimants, aged between 20 and 30, had all worked for a shop selling beauty products and noticed that whilst employed there they seemed to feel unusually unwell for much of the time.
The reason for this became clear when, in November 2015, there was severe weather and the shop ceiling fell down. This exposed the fact the shop attic, directly above the working area, was full of dead and decomposing pigeons as well as faeces and bird carcasses.
Using this as firm evidence of liability on the part of the employer, together with medical evidence from the claimants’ testimonies and medical records, the specialist personal injury team at Bartletts Chester helped the shop assistants secure compensation for their symptoms as well as out of pocket expenses.
The medical records had shown patterns of unusual illnesses, in all four individuals, such as respiratory problems, chest infections, eye infections, and general feeling of being unwell.
Each claimant recovered but became generally unwell again shortly afterwards.
Unfortunately, the attic in question was not immediately repaired or boarded up so there is a risk a similar situation could arise again – we are just thankful our personal injury services provided by Bartletts Chester won the compensation these shop assistants deserved, and hope the employer will soon take the necessary action to ensure its premises are fit for purpose.