Postal worker bitten by dog awarded substantial compensation for accident at work

At the time of the attack, our client was employed as a postal delivery worker and was delivering mail to a residential property in Liverpool, when they were set upon and bitten by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

The management of the mail company were aware of the potential risk of attack from the dog on the round, but had failed to inform their employee of the danger.

The postal worker suffered a harrowing and painful experience as the dog attacked without warning, biting the employee’s leg and refusing to let go as the persons leg was bleeding.

The horrific injuries sustained in the attack required that the postal worker attend hospital for emergency treatment.

Scarred for life

The injuries left the employee unable to walk, bathe or dress themselves for a number of weeks, causing our client immense distress as they felt useless requiring help with every aspect of personal care.

Our client also claimed that they had been left very self-conscious about the significant visible scar on their leg, stating it made them feel less attractive.

‘If you are a postal or delivery worker and you are attacked by a dog while on duty, there are many ways Paul Crowley & Co can assist you in claiming compensation for your injuries. One of our accident at work solicitor’s will provide you with free expert advice and assess whether you have a potential claim. If you do, then we will act on your behalf on a no win no fee agreement and ensure you will receive the best possible outcome.’ 

Dan Griffiths | Director
Paul Crowley & Co.

accident at work – employers responsibilities

The postal worker was left unable to return to work requiring ongoing treatment and so contacted accident at work solicitors Paul Crowley & Co and spoke with Dan Griffiths, Director and personal injury expert at the Liverpool law firm.

Dan says, mail and delivery service companies are obliged to provide their staff with a safe system of work, from my discussion with the client it was clear on this occasion that the mail companies protocol in relation to their own health and safety procedures were not followed, exposing the postal worker to an unnecessary and foreseeable risk of injury.

To guarantee their worker’s safety and to alert the postal staff of any potential dangers while delivering mail, the mail company was, according to its own policy, meant to update the walk logs for their postal delivery service workers every 3 months, at the very least every 6 months, so that their staff were aware of potential dangers prior to doing their rounds.

The employer had failed in their duty to do this, the walk log updates were over a year out of date exposing their staff to potential dangers in the workplace.

The management of the mail company had also failed in their obligation to train their staff in relation to potential hazards and as such employees who were providing cover for other members of staff were unnecessarily exposed to avoidable risks.

The mail company admitted that they owed their staff a duty of care and were obliged to take reasonable steps to provide them with a safe place of work, however they denied that the accident was caused or contributed to by their breach of statutory duty or negligence.  

Dan Griffiths challenged this and contested that the delivery company had breached their own health and safety guidelines by failing to keep up to date walk logs for their delivery personnel and that it was the employer’s legal obligation to take reasonable steps to not cause foreseeable harm to another person.

Dan argued that in common law the mail company were negligent and that they were in breach of their duty, exposing our client to an unnecessary and foreseeable risk of injury. 

Thanks to Dan Griffiths, Paul Crowley & Co were able to secure a substantial compensation payout for our client against the postal company for the pain and suffering endured.

Our client was awarded compensation for:

Personal Injury

Loss of earnings

Care and assistance

Cost of Treatment relating to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 

Future treatment charges 

Travel expenses

Disadvantage on the labour market

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