£2.7m compensation and £180k a year for paraplegic crane operator

Crane plunge man wins £2.7m compensation and £180k a year for life after being left a paraplegic.

Iain Gillham was flung into the air when the crane he was operating collapsed onto a Liverpool city centre apartment block.  Iain Gillham finally has the compensation he deserves. A father of four left paralysed for life after he was ejected from a 200 ft-high crane cab has won a massive £2.7m compensation payout.

Iain Gillham was flung into the air when the crane he was operating collapsed onto a city centre apartment block.

The accident was caused by a ‘catastrophic’ miscalculation of the machinery’s foundations which caused it to topple over, leading to three companies being convicted last year of serious health and safety failings which left the 58-year-old a paraplegic.

Now, after a four-year legal fight, Mr Gillham has been granted £2.7m compensation package, along with a £180,000 payment each year for the rest of his life.

Mr Gillham told the Mirror: “I believe my legal team have obtained the best settlement which was possible.

“I’m philosophical about what happened. If it had happened a day later, it would have been somebody else up in that crane. It could have been a father with a young family.

“I was always taught by my parents, it’s no good crying over spilt milk. So I don’t go around asking, ‘why me?’

“It’s happened, and I’ve got to get on with things as best I can.”
The out-of-court settlement was thrashed out by Fletchers Solicitors, who won cash payouts from responsible firms Bowmer and Kirkland, Bingham Davis Ltd and Adana.

Mr Gillham spent 12 months in hospital after the horror accident at the Chandlers Wharf development in Liverpool city centre.

He was left in a wheelchair after suffering a fractured skull, two chest fractures, 11 spine fractures, a brain haemorrhage, a collapsed lung and serious crush injuries to his left shoulder and arm.

Medics rated his chance of survival at just 30%.

It is unlikely Mr Gillham will ever work again and he now has a team of carers to provide him with round-the-clock support.

Adrian Denson, head of serious injury at Fletcher Solicitors in Southport, Merseyside, said: “This is a very fair settlement for a man whose life was irrevocably changed through absolutely no fault of his own while working as a crane driver.

“It’s a shame it took four years for Iain’s case to be settled and he was left hanging around for an outcome.

“But it’s a good settlement and he’ll comfortably be able to afford his care package each year.”

On July 6, 2009, Mr Gillham was sitting in his cab when it suddenly toppled over, smashing into the luxury apartment block as residents relaxed in their homes.

He was hurled out the cab and landed back inside the wreckage before he was rescued from the building by emergency fire crews.

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