Worker ‘bedridden’ after accident

A warehouse worker was left “bedridden” after being required to bend down and lift 24kg aeroplane components at work.

Paul Pritchard, who was working for Mitie Group at the time, could not work for four months after the incident at the Rolls Royce Depot in Sunderland and did not fully recover for eight months.

Mr Pritchard had to bend down and lift the heavy items because of the way they were stored, leading to him straining the right side of his chest wall and leaving him unable to carry out simple daily tasks. The 37-year-old, from Sunderland, was awarded £4,500 in compensation after Mitie admitted being to blame for the accident.

Mr Pritchard, who took action against the company after contacting the GMB union, told the Sunderland Echo: “I was off work for almost four months and was basically bedridden. I contacted the GMB because I felt that Mitie should have done more to make sure the job I was doing was safe. I still work at Rolls Royce but now have a different employer.”

GMB Organiser Chris Preston said: “Paul didn’t want to be injured and he would rather not have lost the wages that he did. A simple risk assessment of the task and small changes would have avoided this altogether.”