£35,000 damages for crane injury

A screen engineer who was injured by a crane at Chester Race Course has secured £35,000 damages. He was working as a freelance screen engineer. He was dismantling large video screens at the end of a race meeting. Once the screens were dismantled, the large steel structures were piled up so that they could be moved by a crane which was hired from a crane company. As the crane began to move, the beam caught the perimeter fence which caused it to start swinging. He couldn’t get out of the way in time and he was hit by the beam. He suffered serious leg injuries – including fractures to his knee and ankle. He had to have two operations and was left with restricted movement in his knee, and may require a total knee replacement.