A MAN from Merseyside has won compensation from the now defunct Champion Spark Plugs factory in Upton, Wirral, after sustaining serious injuries while lifting pallets that weighed up to 1700lbs.
Trevor Podmore, 46, of Prenton, suffered serious hernias after spending more than a year manually lifting pallets of spark plugs at the factory, which closed in April 2006. He had to undergo surgery, was unable to work for several months and has now been awarded thousands of pounds in compensation.
Despite health and safety recommendations that specialist lifting machinery should have been used and that staff should work in rotation, Mr Podmore spent eight hours a day working alone with no support. It was alleged that earlier redundancies at the Federal Mogul-owned factory had resulted in staffing shortages.
Mr Podmore complained of pains and swelling in his groin in February 2005 and doctors subsequently diagnosed a hernia. The operation to rectify the complaint meant a significant period off work and lead to loss of earnings. A colleague who did the same job as Mr Podmore suffered an identical injury and also underwent surgery.
Mr Podmore commented: “The hernia operation left me practically disabled, I couldn’t walk or even dress myself. I was in a great deal of pain and felt decrepit.
“I didn’t know that I wasn’t meant to be operating the machinery for such long periods of time until a union representative walked by and asked me why I’d been operating it for so long.�
Sara Heppenstall, of Sheffield-based personal injury specialist at Russell Jones and Walker who represented Mr Podmore, said: ‘This kind of injury is easily avoided if employers fulfil their health and safety obligations in the workplace. It is not acceptable, as in this case, for a staff shortage following redundancies, to be considered a reasonable mitigating factor. Clearly the company failed in its responsibilities towards its staff. It has since closed down.�