A postman who was injured in a fall from the back of his van, forcing him to undergo two operations, has won £11,000 in compensation.
Alan Kenyon, 49, tripped over a loose edge-stripping in 2009, and pursued the matter after contacting an injury solicitor.
A spokesman for his legal team said he landed “with such force that onlookers thought he had been knocked over by a passing car”.
Mr Kenyon said: “It all happened so quickly. One minute I was in the van, the next I was flying through the air. Somehow I managed to twist my body before I hit the ground and my shoulder took the full impact – otherwise it would have been my head.
“I couldn’t feel my fingers at first so a Parcel Force manager came and helped me get to the hospital. An X-ray suggested that my shoulder had been dislocated and popped back in again very quickly, but hadn’t gone back right.”
Mr Kenyon was forced to take time off work as he was unable to fulfill his job requirements of lifting heaving objects.
After his first course of physiotherapy, Mr Kenyon spoke about his disappointment as his problems returned.
He said: “I had my first operation in July 2010 and everything went swimmingly for about six months, but then my shoulder started to stiffen up again. My second operation in January 2012 involved cutting away some of my collar bone so the tendons and ligaments would work more freely. It seems to have worked…”
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Safety of our employees is paramount, any such incident is upsetting to the person it happens to.”
