A man has received compensation after he suffered brain damage from a fall in a pothole.

Kyle Bullock was involved in the accident back in July 2007, whilst he was walking down Lightfoot Road in Hornsey. He tripped over a pothole as he was walking and fell to the floor.

The fall caused him to suffer serious injury. He had to undergo brain surgery but has been left with brain damage and epilepsy.

The Haringey Independent reports that the incident resulted in a compensation claim, which has finally ended in Mr Bullock’s favour at London’s High Court this week. The claim was made against Homes for Haringey, who were responsible for maintaining the road surface.

Although the amount of the settlement has not been reported, it has been described as substantial due to the severity of the injuries suffered.

A spokesperson for Homes for Haringey told the paper that they have introduced a comprehensive maintenance plan since the accident, and currently spend £300,000 a year on surface maintenance to prevent similar accidents from happening.

An injured motorcyclist has been awarded compensation after they were struck by a car making a u-turn.

The injury happened to Owain Sullivan as he was travelling along the A22 in Sussex during April 2009. The trainee mechanic was riding his 250cc motorbike at the time.

A Peugeot 206 vehicle turned left into a side road from the A22. However, it made a sudden u-turn and pulled out straight into the path of Mr Sullivan’s motorcycle. He was thrown through the air in the collision and suffered injury.

He was airlifted from the crash scene to the nearest hospital, where he underwent treatment. He fractured his wrist in the accident as well as damaging his neck and groin.

Mr Sullivan tells the Sussex Courier that he was lucky not to suffer more serious injuries and that his motorbike left a large dent in the car. He also states that the incident left him traumatised for months afterwards.

The paper reports that last month Mr Sullivan finally received compensation from the insurers of the car for the injuries that he suffered in the accident. He has apparently been awarded £22,500.

A carpentry firm has been fined after a worker fractured his skull in a fall.

The unnamed worker was just 21 years old at the time of the accident in June last year. He was working on the construction of a detached home in Cobham, helping to build a flat roof at the site.

The flat roof had a number of skylight openings on it. The incident occurred when the man accidentally fell through one of these openings. He fell three metres before landing on the ground below.

The fall caused the man to suffer a fractured skull as well as less serious soft tissue injuries.

Because of the seriousness of the accident, the Health and Safety Executive investigated. They found that the company constructing the roof – D&R Carpentry Ltd – had not put any measures in place to prevent such a fall. Such measures could have included safety decking or a soft landing system.

The company were taken to court this week for breaking health and safety regulation. It was heard that they had previously received warnings about fall from height risks during site visits in 2007.

After admitting to breaking the Health and Safety at Work Act, D&R Carpentry Ltd were fined £5,000.

A fine has been issued after a man was seriously injured in a fall whilst fixing rollercoaster.

The unnamed 42 year old was working at Legoland in Windsor when the accident happened in June 2011. He was helping to remove two damaged roller-coaster trains from the track of the Dragon Coaster ride at the attraction.

Whilst undertaking this work, he stepped on a walkway that was not secured in position. The section had been removed and then put back into place, but had not been re-secured.

Standing on the unsecured walkway caused the man to fall a total of three metres. He suffered multiple injuries, including breaks to bones in his shoulder and ribs.

The HSE looked into the accident and found that work carried on at the park in exactly the same way the next day despite the serious accident happening. They also found that a risk assessment carried out previously stated that harnesses needed to be used to complete the task.

The operators of Legoland – Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd – have been hit with a fine of £23,200 after admitting to breaking work at height regulations at court this month.

A work accident resulted in a man losing his thumb in a potato sorting machine whilst attempting to clear a blockage.

Brian Griffiths was at work at crisps manufacturer Sirhowy Valley Foods when he suffered the injury in December 2011. At the work premises in Newport, he was working on a potato sorting machine.

When the machine became blocked, Mr Griffiths attempted to clear the blockage whilst the machine was still running. He was wearing gloves whilst he was doing this and the material on them caught on the rollers. This pulled his hand into the machine and his thumb was severed.

The accident was investigated by the HSE who found the official company policy of using a long-handled pole to clear blockages was not always followed due to the need to sort the problem quickly.

The HSE brought a prosecution against Sirhowy Valley Foods for breaking work equipment regulations. They stated that the man’s injury could have been easily avoided had the machine been guarded and a safe system of work put in place to clear blockages. The firm pleaded guilty and were fined £8,000 on Monday.

A joiner has been awarded compensation after suffering a serious allergic reaction to a certain kind of hardwood dust.

Brian Ogden made the claim against his brother’s company, Classic Joinery Manufacturers, who he had been working for from 1984. He first noticed problems with the dust of Iroko hardwood timber over 20 years ago.

Inhalation of the Iroko dust caused Mr Ogden breathing difficulties and irritation to his throat and nose.

When the company undertook a large project using Iroko wood back in 2008, Mr Ogden told management of his allergy to the dust. He was provided with an air-filter mask but within days he became seriously ill.

He was taken to hospital with breathing problems and swelling to his face and eyes. He returned to work and was given a more expensive mask. He had problems again however when the battery on the new mask was not replaced.

The Manchester Evening News reports that he has now received compensation from the insurers of the company. The company went into liquidation in 2009 and Mr Ogden now reportedly works as a building skills teacher.

A paint manufacturer has been fined after one of its workers needed a back brace after being injured in a fall.

An accident happened at the premises of Intercoat Industrial Paints Ltd in Walsall during December 2011. Brian Sparrow was working to install a mezzanine floor some three metres above the ground.

The incident occurred when Mr Sparrow fell from an unguarded edge during this work. He had completed the framework for the floor and was attempting to fit metal plates onto this framework when he fell.

The fall caused Mr Sparrow to fracture two vertebrae. This injury required him to wear a back brace to help keep his back straight. On top of this, he suffered numerous minor injuries such as a bruised shoulder and broken tooth. He has been unable to return to work so far because of the injuries he suffered.

An investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive into the accident and the work to build the floor. It was discovered that the floor installation had not been properly planned, risk assessed or supervised. For example, employees were allowed to continue to work beneath the floor during its construction.

After a hearing at Walsall Magistrates’ Court this week, a HSE inspector stated that the accident was entirely preventable. After an admission by the company to breaking health and safety law, a fine of £3,000 was issued by magistrates.

A compensation claim has been launched after a stablehand fell from a racehorse.

Laura Coward was seriously injured in the incident, which happened when she was just 17 years old back in November 2008. She was working at the Horses First Racing Ltd stables in Wiltshire at the time.

The accident happened whilst Laura was taking a “trial ride” of the racehorse called Saucy Night. The horse had retired from racing but was famous for winning a two and a half mile steeplechase at Folkestone Racecourse whilst not wearing horseshoes.

Legal papers submitted to the High Court in London state that the “trial ride” was designed to see if Ms Coward had the ability to handle the horse. It is alleged that Ms Coward informed staff that she had not ridden for a while but was reassured that she would be fine.

Whilst riding Saucy Night, the horse began to trot. She tried to rein him back into a walking pace but instead he accelerated further.

This caused her to panic and lose her right stirrup. Saucy Night then accelerated further, causing Ms Coward to fall off the horse completely. She landed on the wooden fencing of the arena and suffered a broken back.

The injury has left her paraplegic and dependent on a wheelchair. The Western Daily Press reports that she is now making a riding accident claim for her injuries.

The court papers submitted by her legal team argue that the horse should have been led by a rope in the circumstances. It is also claimed that Saucy Night suffered from a disease called ‘the strangles’ before the accident. This would have made him more resistant to being ridden.

A fine has been issued after a worker fell from scaffolding on a gym construction project.

The unnamed worker is a Romanian who was working as a labourer in London at the time of the incident in April 2011. He was employed as part of a team of labourers, tasked with stripping out a basement gym in a building in Farringdon.

The labourers were asked to take down ventilation ducting from the gym. The worker was working from a scaffold tower to reach ducting on the ceiling of a squash court. However, whilst he was on the tower, it was knocked over and he and the scaffold fell to the floor.

The Romanian labourer fell a height of over four metres in the accident and suffered serious injury. He fractured two vertebrae as well as breaking ribs.

The HSE investigated and found that the scaffold had been erected without correct supervision. This was despite the fact that none of the labourers were competent at erecting scaffold towers safely.

A fine of £8,000 has just been issued to MJM Fitout Ltd who had hired the labourers. This was for breaking Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. A court heard how the accident could have been prevented if the work had been properly planned and managed.

Essex councils are reported to have paid out over £1.7million in compensation for accidents that happened at work.

In total, £1,744,742 is reported to have been paid out by Colchester, Tendring, Braintree, Maldon and Essex County Councils as a result of compensation claims. The figure was revealed by the Chelmsford Weekly News, after they made a Freedom of Information Request.

The figure relates to claims made against the authorities in the period between 2006 and 2012. Unsurprisingly, Essex County Council (who employs the most staff) paid out the most for accident at work claims. Maldon District Council on the other hand, had no claims made against it during the period same period.

A spokesperson for Maldon District Council told the paper that they treat the health and safety of staff as extremely important, with regular assessments and training where necessary. They also concluded that this commitment to a safe working environment has contributed to the lack of claims made against them in the last six years.