Please can someone recommend a solicitor for claim against employer (High St Bank) for injuries?

[eve1ian]

The background to the problem: due to age discrimination, bullying, lack of meeting safety requirements and more caused and aggravated injuries to my mother, an employee at a large High Street Bank. Consequently, she needed surgery last year from which she is yet to fully recover. Because of the period of Sickness Absence taken she has had to apply for disability retirement because of this Work Related Upper Limb Disorder.

 

She suffered injuries to her tendons in both hands and her back from working as a bank teller in a high street branch. She was an employee with the bank for over 12 years. There is so much more but I will spare you the details right now.

 

I was looking for help in finding a solicitor to help us make a claim against her employer.

 

The difficulty I have had is finding a decent and knowledgeable firm that can seriously tackle both the employment law and injury law aspects.

 

The market seems to be saturated with "no win, no fee" accident injury claim solicitors, though I'm worried that most are not good enough to tackle a complicated case such as this.

 

Please if someone could spare some time to help us in this matter.

 

Thanks for reading.

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I'm afraid we are not able to recommend solicitors, it's against site rules. I hope though that the guys might have an opinion on whether you should make both claims with the same lawyer or not.

 

Does your mother have legal cover with her household insurance for example? They might be prepared to give some advice. And if you don't want a NWNF lawyer, you could have a look on the Law Society website. There's a search facility where you can find the firms with specialities in the areas of law you want in the right part of the UK.

 

My best, HB

[eve1ian]

Thanks for quick reply. Much appreciated.

 

Sorry I didn't mean to jeopardise any of the forum rules.

 

If anyone has experience of similar cases, feel free to PM me.

 

I don't think that my Mum has legal cover included in our household policy. Though it is worth checking.

 

What I didn't mention is that nearly 6 years ago she claimed compensation from the employer's Insurance company to cover the cost of treatment, (three sessions of steroidal injections into muscles). In that claim we had to prove to the Insurer that the injury for which she required treatment was of a direct consequence of working. The insurer agreed and did pay out that time.

 

From that time things got worse. Her manager knew of the risk to her health though never put in place safeguards to prevent further injuries, ergonomic VDU (visual display unit) and so on. Later she was moved to a branch far away from her home because the new manager wanted to get all the "oldies" out as he put it. Area managers did nothing to resolve that. Occupational health also stated that she shouldn't have been moved, especially when the increased distance drive aggravated the injury. Because of the injuries she received she had to cut down her hours. Later she needed surgery to which she is still to recover and medical reports state that it is unlikely she will ever be able to return to employment because of this.

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

I'm sure the guys will help as much as they can.

 

If anyone has experience of similar cases, feel free to PM me.

 

But, and you're going to hate me, advice by PM is also against the spirit of site rules. There is rarely need for advice this way, cases can be posted on open forum where they can help everyone.

 

May I suggest you have a read of the rules you've signed up to please? Here's a link.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?9-Forum-rules.-Please-read-these-before-posting

 

HB

[BankFodder]

You will definitely need a specialist to bring a PI claim.

 

Shop around. get a solicitor on a no win no fee basis but don't go for a claims management company. You need a solicitor who is really a specialist in this field.

 

Beware, the bank will spend everything to beat you - and I don't mean to win against you, I mean - to beat you down.

 

The banks are complete sh1ts to their customers and they aren't any better to their employees.

 

Make sure that you take photos, note everything, get as many doctor's reports as you can. Keep a careful detailed record.

Isn't there a union?

[eve1ian]

I'm really sorry. I read your signature just after I clicked post quick reply and was biting my lip!! Arghh! Sorry I've been conditioned to other forums.

 

A quick question though.. would you think our case requires a firm specialising in Injuries, Compensation or Employment cases? Or is there a certain type of firm to look for that will cover all three of those aspects.

[eve1ian]

Thanks Bankfodder.

 

Yes you are certainly right about the Bank. We have been prepared for this for a while. Much of the past 6 months have been trying to help my Mum get her confidence back. I helped throughout the sickness Absence process, and saw at first hand how unethical they are. Thankfully much of the HR staff and the branch management are, to put it coarsely, rather dumb. So through persistence and attention to detail had them slipping up many occasions. It culminated in the branch bank manager actually forging a letter that he mistakenly thought we were requesting, when in actual fact that letter was never contested and was already included in the evidence to her final stage meeting. To think, a bank manager so reckless and inept. We highlighted this to the regional manager and the implications on the branch managers expected code of conduct, though they never acted on it.

 

Thanks for highlighting the difference in specialist solicitors and claims management companies.

 

I remember reading a similar case against Natwest in which the ex-employee was awarded her claim. I was thinking of trying to find which solicitors/law firm handled that case. Any ideas as to how I could go about that?