Crane injury costs Balfour

An ex-tunnel labourer was awarded more than £125,000 against Balfour Beatty in the High Court last week after being condemned to "a life of excruciating pain" following an accident with a crane in 1990.

Mr Gerald Elias QC ordered that £2,500 should be paid out immediately to Eugene Sutton, 34, a former miner "in part satisfaction". An order was made that £41,400 should be repaid to the recovery unit of the Department of Social Security.

Sutton was represented in court by Mathias Kelly, who said that his client had wanted to join an "elite band of highly-paid tunnel miners" before the accident on June 27, 1990.

Sutton claimed damages for negligence against contractor Balfour Beatty following the accident that happened when he worked on the reconstruction of London Underground's Angel tube station on 27 June 1990. The contractor denied liability.

Kelly claimed that a crane driver had behaved "irresponsibly" before the accident by operating a crane when it was unsafe to do so. The action led to Sutton being knocked on to rails by the crane, injuring his back.

Sutton told the court he had indicated to the crane driver, Kevin Cooney, not to operate the controls until he signalled.

"As I'm trying to put the safety catch up on the skip, Mr Cooney takes it up. I shouted 'Whoa!' when he tried to correct it.

"I think he pressed the wrong button, it came towards me, I lost my balance and fell onto the track."

Sutton has been unable to work for eight years because he could not walk for long periods. He attended hospital regularly until February 1996, when he had an operation to remove a bone at the base of his spine.

"It provided him with a life of excruciating pain until then," said Kelly. Following surgery Sutton now works as a cleaner.