Settlement of £7,000 for groin injury

A prison officer who was allocated a new job without any training and subsequently became injured has received an out-of-court settlement of £7,000. He was using a hydraulic pallet truck to move a pallet of CDs out of a dark storage container when the truck became stuck. He attempted to move the truck by hand but as he was pulling it he damaged his groin. He suffered a soft tissue injury and a labral tear in his hip, which may need to be operated on in the future. Doctors said the injury had accelerated degenerative changes in his hip by five to 10 years. His lawyer argued he should have been trained in how to use the hydraulic pallet truck before being allowed to drive it. The prison admitted 80% liability.