A man has secured a damages settlement after he fell from height on his first day working at a dry dock.

The man and other workers at the dry dock had been asked to sandpaper and paint river cruise boats before they returned to service. Although the workers had been asked to erect scaffolding so that this could be done safely, the foreman told the man to climb a ladder to start work on one of the boats. The man fell from the ladder, suffering fractured bones and soft tissue injuries.

He was taken by ambulance to hospital, where emergency surgery was performed to unite the fractures. He subsequently underwent therapy but continued to suffer pain and mobility problems. He has made a good recovery but is unlikely to return to construction work.

His employer's insurers argued that he had been given instructions not to climb more than a few steps up the ladder, so that he would be a safe distance from the ground. However, this did not conform to the risk assessment that had been carried out for the work, and it was clear that he should never have been asked to use the ladder at all. Following negotiations, a six-figure settlement of his claim was agreed with the insurers.