You are acting for Alan MacLaughlin with respect to an accident he suffered during the course of his work at Kendrick’s Sawmills Limited (KSL). Mr. MacLaughlin was one of the machinists at KSL and as a result, he was mainly engaged in cutting the different types of wood to the sizes required by customers.
Mr. MacLaughlin’s accident happened on 11th June 2020. The firm had a large order from a local construction company and were working to quite a tight deadline. As a result, the foreman had removed the guards from some of the machines so that the work could be done faster. Mr. MacLaughlin was asked to work on one of the machines from which the guard had been removed.
Mr. MacLaughlin’s accident happened when the wood he was guiding through the machine got caught on the saw blade. This pulled Mr. MacLaughlin’s left hand into the machine and the top of two of his fingers were cut off before he could press the stop button.
Mr. MacLaughlin was taken to hospital straightaway but there was nothing that could be done except to sew up the wounds on his hand. He has therefore lost the top of his index and middle finger and about 50% of the function of his left hand.
Fortunately, Mr. MacLaughlin is right handed but he was unable to return to his work at KSL and so was out of work for several months. As a result, he suffered a substantial loss of income. He did, however, eventually find an administrative job with a family friend which was better paid than his post at KSL. Mr. MacLaughlin has therefore suffered no continuing loss of earnings. Overall, with his injuries, loss of earnings and other matters you value Mr. MacLaughlin’s claim at about £80,000 – £85,000.
Mr. MacLaughlin believes the company are responsible for the accident as they removed the guards on the machines. He has therefore instructed your firm to take action against KSL.
Part (i)
You take the necessary steps under the protocol but you are unable to settle the claim with KSL. You therefore decide to start court proceedings.
Please explain where you might start court proceedings in this case. (6 marks)
(200 words)
Part (ii)
You have started proceedings and the claim form, particulars of claim and other documents have been sent to KSL.
Please explain what KSL should do in order to respond in full to the claim that Mr. MacLaughlin has made. (8 marks)
(300 words)
Part (iii)
You are acting for Femi Adebayo who has recently been charged with theft of car parts. He is one of a number of your clients who have had similar charges laid against them after a spate of such thefts in Wood Green during the lockdown.
Femi works as a mechanic in a garage in Noel Park and was walking back to his home in Wood Green at about 8pm. He had been working late to finish off a job at the garage. He was carrying some of his tools in a bag as he was going to do some work on a friend’s car that weekend. He had a bandana around his face as he prefers this to wearing a face mask. Femi still had grease on his hands as he preferred to wash at home after work.
Femi was approached by two police officers who were in uniform. They came up to him, asked him to stop walking and one of the officers said “Please open your bag sir, we would like to see what’s inside.” When they looked in the bag, the police found the tools. They then arrested Femi and took him to the local police station.
In the car on the way to the police station, one of the police officers sat on the back seat with Femi and started asking him about his movements that night. When Femi explained where he had been the officer said “Come on mate. Don’t give me that. We know what’s going on here. You’ve got the tools and you’re covered in grease. You must be involved.”
Femi was then interviewed at the police station and was charged at the end of the interview.
Please advise Femi on the search carried out by the police officers and their actions in the police car. You SHOULD NOT comment on the arrest or any other matters arising from the facts given to you. (11 marks)
