COUNTY NEWS: Worker injured by major electric shock wins compensation payout

An ex-British Telecom worker who was given a major electric shock by overhead power lines in a Sussex village has won a compensation payout.
The scales of justiceThe scales of justice
The scales of justice

Cherry picker operator Ian Andrew Milroy was injured while working in Catsfield, near Battle, in August 2009, his barrister Harry Steinberg QC told London’s High Court.

The 57-year-old, of Biggin Hill, Kent, suffered a cardiac arrest, brain damage and burns when he was shocked.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was a ‘very high-voltage electrocution’, said the QC, and Mr Milroy, who has no memory of the accident, has since experienced anxiety and depression.

His lawyers sued British Telecommunications Plc on his behalf, but the company denied blame for the incident.

However Mr Justice William Davis, at a hearing in February 2015, found the telecoms giant two-thirds responsible for what happened.

He ruled that the ‘training given to Mr Milroy was not adequate’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A final settlement of Mr Milroy’s claim was today approved by Judge David Pittaway QC, although the amount of his payout was kept confidential.

Describing it as a ‘difficult case’, the judge said: “The amount of damages which have been agreed is not going to turn the clock back.”

But he told Mr Milroy: “It will at least ensure both you and your wife have a good quality of life going forward.”

Earlier in today’s hearing, William Norris QC, for BT, told the court: “We would simply wish Mr Milroy and his family well.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A judge was told in 2015 that the repair hoist operator was called to help a colleague who was checking a fault on a carrier pole on August 26, 2009.

Mr Milroy – who had worked for BT for more than 20 years – and the ground support worker were elevated in the cherry picker mounted on the back of a transit van.

When a woman with a horse asked them to move the vehicle so she could pass along Powdermill Lane, Mr Milroy obliged.

But as he did so, Mr Milroy “came into contact with the current running through a high-voltage power line”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His heart stopped, he had a seizure and was badly burnt to the back of his head and his right arm. He also suffered fractures to his back and a traumatic brain injury, the court heard.

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage

2) Like our Facebook page

3) Follow us on Twitter

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

Always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.

Related topics: