I suffered horrific life-changing injuries after falling off 21m high pirate ship theme park ride… now I could win £100k
A FUNFAIR worker is struggling to walk after an eight-foot fall left the man’s foot “deformed” and he could be set to cash in on £100,000.
Michael James, 41, was working on dismantling a £350,000 fairground ride called the ‘Freakout’ following a September 2019 show in Essex.
James could now be in for a big payout after winning a legal stoush at the High Court in London.
He’s set his sights on £100,000 in compensation, but the actual amount is yet to be determined.
The former roofer slipped from a wet rail and fell eight feet to the ground after only being in the job for five months.
James was left lying on the wet ground and had to wait two hours for an ambulance.
His boss, Asa Shaw, was nowhere to be seen.
James had fractured and discolated his foot in multiple places and underwent surgery to insert wire, plates, and screws into his foot, before finally being discharged from hospital about three weeks after his fall.
His foot was “obviously deformed” and he was left unable to work.
James then sued his employer, Shaw’s Leisure, claiming £100,000 in damages for his injuries.
Four years later, the Plumstead man uses a walking stick as he constantly suffers pain in his right foot.
The ‘Freakout’ is a 21-meter-high twist on the classic pirates’ ship ride, featuring four swinging cars on a pendulum which swings and rotates, spinning thrillseekers around.
The court heard James was not wearing a harness and fell when a seized nut he was trying to turn with Shaw suddenly loosened, causing him to lose his balance and slip.
He said he had had “no choice” other than to help his boss when Shaw had asked for help in loosening the seized nut
James said he should not have been made to stand and work on a wet handrail at height without protective equipment, because it was “foreseeably dangerous.”
Shaw, who was the general manager of the company and the son of the owner, denied any blame, claiming he was “very safety conscious”.
He said he had been trying to loosen the nut himself and had gone to his cab to get another tool when it became stuck, telling James to leave it to him.
When he returned, James had already fallen.
“I was very cross because what he had done, he caused himself,” Shaw told the judge.
“It was stupidity. I had no sympathy for him because it was stupidity. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but that’s the way I looked at it.”
The judge, Senior Master Jeremy Cook, accepted James’ account as the truth and found that Shaw had fabricated his story to dodge the blame.
“I find it inherently unlikely that a good worker like the claimant, who usually did as he was told and followed directions, would take it upon himself to attempt to remove the nut,” he said.
“So having considered the entirety of the evidence in context I conclude that the claimant’s account of the accident is correct and that Mr Shaw has made up his account to minimise the defendant’s liability.
“In the circumstances, I have no hesitation in concluding that this was an unsafe system of work. The claimant should not have been asked to perform this task because it was foreseeably dangerous.”
Senior Master Cook ruled James is entitled to compensation and the amount will be decided at a later date.