A CRANE operator who was told by doctors he might never walk again following an horrific industrial accident says it is "a miracle" he is now back on his feet.
Jonathan Laverick suffered a badly broken leg, a collapsed lung and crushed vertebrae after a 52ft steel tube, weighing almost two tonnes, fell from a crane.
Mr Laverick suffered the horrific injuries in the accident, which happened at the Corus T
ubes plant in Brenda Road, Hartlepool, in April 2007.
Mr Laverick spent four weeks in an induced coma in the University Hospital of North Tees following the accident, and in the early stages of his recovery he was told by medics he may never walk again.
But the 39-year-old has since made a remarkable recovery and has returned to work at the site, in a non-manual role.
He spoke for the first time about his hell following a court case which saw his employers hit with a bill in excess of £20,000.
Corus Tubes was fined £15,000 after admitting to breaching the Health and Safety Act at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court yesterday, and were ordered to pay costs of £6,248.
Magistrates heard Mr Laverick was using a remote-controlled magnetic crane to lift 11in wide girders onto a waiting lorry, when the longest became snagged on a wall and fell on top of him.
The divorced dad of two, who lives in Willow Sage Court, Stockton, and had been working at the plant for three years prior to the accident, said: "It has been a living nightmare, my whole life has been thrown up in the air. All I remember is feeling something wasn't right and then waking up four-weeks later.
"I didn't even recognise my kids when I saw them because I was so mixed up. Doctors told me I might not walk again then they were talking about cutting my leg off. To be up and about now is a miracle."
The Health and Safety Executive brought a case against Corus for not taking all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their employees.
Bruno Porter, HM inspector of health and safety, said in court: "He was walking alongside the tubes but because of the size of one tube there was no safe place to stand.
"He says he had lifted it up and turned to face the direction of the wagons.
"But it had moved in a diagonal direction over his head and made contact with a building, causing it to fall from the magnet."
Corus Tubes admitted culpability, but said the accident was also down to errors by Mr Laverick.
Dominic Adamson, representing Corus Tubes, said: "He was not paying attention and should not have allowed it to come into contact with the wall, but we acknowledge by the plea that Corus could have done more to prevent it happening."
Chairman of the magistrates' bench, Geoffrey Morley, said: "This was a serious accident but could potentially have been more serious or even fatal."
Mr Laverick has now launched a civil action against his employer for compensation.
The full article contains 522 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
