A man was left 'inches from death' after he caught sepsis following a shocking wall collapse in his rented house.
Andrew from Middlesbrough was left with a devastating injury to his hand when an adjoining brick wall in his back garden fell on top of him two years ago, reports Teesside Live.
Several days after the accident a friend noticed that he was acting confused, and he was quickly rushed to hospital for emergency surgery on his hand.
Doctors found Andrew's had become septic to the point where Andrew was close to losing his hand and possibly his arm, which had also become swollen.
He told BBC One's Northern Justice: "When I got to the hospital, they took one look at me and sent me straight to the intensive care unit.
"I was inches from death. They said, 'we’re going to take the hand off and if it doesn’t work, we’ll take his arm off'."
Thankfully surgeons were able to save all of his limbs, though he still suffers mobility issues with his hand, which he believes will "never be the same again".
During his recovery Andrew launched a complaint against his housing provider, having previously asked them to take action on the wall and the general state of disrepair at the accommodation.
He hired Apprentice 2018 candidate and Middlesbrough-based lawyer Sarah Magson of Watson Woodhouse Solicitors, who launched a private prosecution under the Environmental Protection Act.
The pair won the case, forcing the landlords of Andrew’s property and the neighbouring property to repair the dangerous wall.
However, the judge ruled that the offending parties were not obliged to pay Andrew’s legal costs - leaving Sarah no choice but to take the case to the High Court in London.
The High Court ruled in his favour, sending the case back to Middlesbrough where they agreed to make the landlords pay.
Reflecting on how their win could set a precedent for other tenants in similar situations, Ms Magson said: "If solicitors can’t represent their clients on a no-win, no-fee basis for individuals like Andrew, it means that they would not be able to go and get the improvements to the property."
Andrew's legal battle was the subject of Northern Justice, a BBC One documentary series available on iPlayer following North East-based lawyers as they guide local people through individual legal battles.
