A school caretaker who was injured falling off a six-foot stepladder is suing his employer for £50,000 claiming he was not trained how to use it properly.
Anthony Gower-Smith says his bosses did not show him how to use the 6ft ladder safely, although he admits using others for at least 30 years without mishap. Mr Gower-Smith, 73, fell while removing a card display and staples from a wall in the gym at Awbridge Primary School near Romsey, Hampshire, in January 2004.
He fractured his skull, broke a cheekbone, split a kidney and spent time in the intensive care unit in nearby Southampton General Hospital, Winchester County Court heard.
Mr Gower-Smith, a former garage proprietor, is suing Hampshire County Council for liability, claiming they did not tell him how to properly use a stepladder. He is claiming damages of at least £15,000 and up to £50,000. The council denies negligence.
Mr Gower-Smith told the court he had signed a form to say he had received "ladder training" but said this only consisted of being warned not to stand on the top platform or work at higher than three metres off the ground.
"I thought that was the extent of ladder training," he told the court. "I didn't know there were other things regarding ladders."
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