6ft man awarded £500k by former employer after hitting head on doorframe at work

A six-foot man who never fully recovered from banging his head at work has been awarded more than £500,000 in damages from him former employer.

Stephen Long, 48 and a former IT boss from Norwich, said he suffered a "traumatic brain injury" when he hit his head while working for Elegant Resorts Ltd at Old Palace in Chester.

He sued his former employer over the March 2015 incident, during which he went to help a colleague lift a large and awkward item when he struck his head against a low doorframe in a dimly-lit cellar.

He continued working but said he felt unusually sleepy in the following days and was later admitted to hospital.

The incident happened at the Elegant Resorts Lts site in Chester in 2015 (Champion News)

Mr Long attempted to return to work in April 2015 but only lasted a few hours and was subsequently told he was to be made redundant from his £50,000-a-year job the following month.

It was said that Mr Long appealed redundancy on the grounds of disability discrimination and that the employment claim had been settled by the defendant paying £5,575 to Mr Long on terms that were expressed to be "without admission of liability".

Mr Long said he remained 'unfit' to work at the level he used to (Champion News)

A seven-day High Court trial earlier this year heard Mr Long "remains unfit to work at the level that he did prior to his accident" and was most recently employed as a part-time gardener at a National Trust property on a fraction of his previous salary.

The travel company said in its defence statement that it was "sceptical as to both the accuracy and the honesty of the (Mr Long's) account relating to the accident and its aftermath".

Elegant Resorts admitted liability for injuries caused by the accident, but said that this was no more than a bump to the head of a kind that people suffer regularly and which has led to no long-term consequences at all.

But the judge, His Honour Judge Pearce, found Mr Long had likely not exaggerated his symptoms.

Handing down his ruling, the judge said he was satisfied that Mr Long suffered significant injuries, and that he had not been guilty of fundamental dishonesty.

He awarded Mr Long total damages of £509,957, including £298,379 for future loss of earnings.