Personal Injury
Serious Injury

Worker who ‘cheated death’ awarded compensation after being hit by crane arm

Robert Keane suffered an injury at work which left him in a wheelchair
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Samuel McFadyen

Manager of Serious Injury (Hull) & Senior Associate Solicitor

2 min read time
22 Jul 2019

Hudgell Solicitors’ serious injury claims team has secured a substantial damages settlement for a 40-year-old man who developed chronic regional pain syndrome and was left wheelchair bound just a year after being involved in a serious accident at work.

Robert Keane, 40, of Hull, was hit by a large cable section of a crane arm which snapped and fell in high winds as it was being lowered, when working on a site in Newcastle.

He says he ‘cheated death’ as he was hit and knocked to the ground, with the impact sending him some distance across the building site. Amazingly, after staggering to his feet he was able to walk to the ambulance which was called for him.

It initially appeared he had escaped without any long-term physical consequences either, having treatment in hospital for cuts and bruising to his left hand side, on his face, shoulder, chest, left arm and fractured wrist.

However, having returned to work in less than two months, he soon found his pains worsening, so much so that he struggled doing basic tasks such as walking up stairs.

That pain continued to increase and became so intense that just over a year after his accident he had to give up work and he was confined to a wheelchair and diagnosed as suffering from chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Although often misunderstood, the condition is medically recognised as one which can be triggered by injury, with the resulting pain much more severe and long-lasting, with any slight touch or bump causing intense pain.

In The News: Hull Live 

Read Robert’s thoughts on how Hudgells have helped him  ‘Hudgells didn’t just help me after injury, but joined my journey to a new life helping others’

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Samuel McFadyen is Manager of Serious Injury (Hull) & Senior Associate Solicitor at Hudgell Solicitors specialising in Serious Injury and Personal Injury.
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Worker who ‘cheated death’ awarded compensation after being hit by crane arm

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