UNITE : Jaguar savaged by fine of almost £1 million after worker crushed 20 January 2017

Birmingham crown court has fined Jaguar Land Rover £900,000 after a Unite the union member was crushed at its vehicle plant in Solihull in 2015.

Mark Widnall, aged 59, from Coventry, had been working in the plant on 8 February 2015, carrying out vehicle checks on the tracks when a colleague drove a vehicle onto the track and collided with another vehicle, which then crushed the union member's leg.

The accident was so serious that Mr Widnall needed an above knee amputation of his leg and has had to move house in order to accommodate his needs.

A jury at Birmingham crown court convicted Jaguar Land Rover of breaching health and safety regulations and on Wednesday (18 January 2017) the judge ordered Jaguar to pay a £900,000 fine alongside £49,864 costs.

Mr Widnall contacted Unite Legal Services after his accident to pursue a claim for compensation and Jaguar's conviction brings that one step closer.

Mr Widnall said: 'This is the first stage in drawing a line under my accident but I have been left with a prosthetic limb which means I can't do things I used to do, like going out dancing. I had to move in with my elderly mother for a while, who also has to care for my brother.

'It is stressful having to rely on others but I am hugely grateful for the support provided by Unite Legal Services, who have been fantastic.'

Unite's assistant general secretary for legal services Howard Beckett said: 'This is a shocking case. We will be supporting our member through his compensation claim but the fact remains that he has lost a limb due to the negligence of the company and no money will change that.

'Unite Legal Services will continue to fight to get our member the maximum compensation to help him rehabilitate and return to as independent a life as possible.'

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Unite Legal Services acts for over 20,000 members a year and recovered over £160 million in damages last year. Unite Legal Services provides support to members in respect of all types of personal injury claim, including Serious Injuries, Accidents at or Away from Work, Asbestos and other industrial Diseases, Medical Negligence and Road Traffic Accidents.

Unite Legal Services guarantee that members always receive 100% of their damages.

For more information please contact Unite senior communications officer Shaun Noble on 020 3371 2060 or 07768 693940. Email: [e-mail]

• Unite is Britain and Ireland's largest trade union with over 1.4 million members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.