Long hours lead to paralysis
08 October 2007
A company with a long-hours culture has been found liable for an accident which left an employee paralysed.
Michael Eyres, 23, was driving a van back to Bradford from Devon when the accident occurred, after a 19-hour working day having driven hundreds of miles without a break.
The accident occurred on the M1 when Mr Eyres braked suddenly and lost control of his van. He was thrown out of the vehicle and as a result his back was broken and he was left tetraplegic.
He brought an action against his employer, claiming that tiredness was the cause of the accident, because of the long working hours that were expected of him.
The company was found negligent for doing nothing to protect him from injury.
It was, however, decided that Mr Eyres had been partly responsible for the accident because wasn’t wearing a seatbelt so an interim award of £400,000 was made and the exact level of the damages will be set later. It is thought likely that Mr Eyres will receive more than £1 million in compensation for his injuries.
Tanveer Jaleel, senior partner at TJL Solicitors comments: “Employers who insist on employees working long hours without a break may well put them at increased risk and could find themselves held liable for any resulting stress or injury.”