Former employee: Network Rail ignored warnings, pays £800,000 fine

A case of amputation negligence surrounds a winning claim for former Network Rail employee Alan Evans. Evans was almost killed by a Brighton-to-London train while working on what should have been a safe stretch of track. Nevertheless, because Network Rail ignored warnings, they’re out nearly a million pounds in compensation damages.

For Mr Evans, the true nature of those damages as a result of that ignorance may not be over.

Perilous incident because Network Rail ignored warnings

Mr Evans was leading a group of 12 engineers working to upgrade the tracks near Redhill. They were suffering from metal fatigue, and thus, at risk of causing a terrible rail accident. One member of the team was posted as a “lookout”, further down the line, alerting the rest of the workers to an oncoming train.

In short: when a lookout spots an oncoming train, he/she alerts other crew members. Subsequently, the crew takes shelter on the side of a 45-degree bank. Thus leaving a small but acceptable distance of 150cm between themselves and the train tracks.

However, in this instance, the layout of the work area means that the lookout took a position at a distance. Coupled with the small distance, that would give him less than 20 seconds to warn others of an oncoming train. Ultimately, a train travelling at 80mph struck Mr Evans, almost entirely destroying his shoulder.

Shoulder surgeries may not prevent amputation

With more than 20 surgeries on the shoulder, it’s still likely that Mr Evans’ right arm needs an amputation. Accordingly, compensation claims aren’t far from his mind, as he’s now unable to work.

Network Rail was ordered to pay £800K in fines regarding breaches of health and safety regulations. This is especially poignant to Mr Evans, too. He himself had raised concerns over the safety of the high-risk site before work began. However, Network Rail was somewhat dismissive in response, telling Mr Evans that management would look into it.

Lawyers at Guildford Crown Court state that it’s reasonable to do such work at night. This is because trains do not run along the Redhill stretch of the line at these hours. Thus removing the risk of a train hitting a worker. Yet again, Network Rail was negligent of the risks of this situation.

Their insistence on working during the day left workers vulnerable to unnecessary risk. Ergo, these conditions ultimately brought on Mr Evans’ injuries.

How we can help

Mr Evans’ case is not a unique one to The Compensation Experts’ team of legal experts. Above all, The Compensation Experts thrive on getting victims of personal injury the compensation they rightfully deserve. Regardless of where you live (be it Surrey, London or Bristol), we work with the nation’s leading law firms.

With the help of trustworthy guidance from injury experts with experience, you can make a claim for any of the following.

We do more than just personal injury claims in the UK, too. We also cover accidents that take place abroad. Additionally, the cover includes (but is not limited to):

A personal injury claim can also be made by a third party after a person dies, or on behalf of a minor.