£43,857 settlement for back injury

A man who lost his job after injuring his back lifting a heavy memorial stone at work has received £43,857 in an out of court settlement. The man was helping a colleague move the large memorial stone, and the only equipment they were provided with was a scaffolding pole. Their instructions were to wedge the pole beneath the stone so it could then be levered off the ground by using blocks of wood as a fulcrum. They had just managed to lever the stone off the ground when his colleague released the pole without warning, causing him to bear the full weight of the stone on his own. He suffered two prolapsed discs in his spine. He was eventually dismissed from his job on health grounds.