£450,000 damages for lorry driver

An overhead crane lifted the entire lorry

A driver who suffered severe head injuries when he was thrown 20 feet to the ground from his lorry cab during a lifting operation at a docks has been awarded £452,000 damages at the High Court.

Derek Mayes, now 66, of Stowmarket in Suffolk had worked as a heavy goods driver collecting and delivering freight.

The court heard that the accident happened in December 1997 when an overhead crane lifted his entire lorry instead of just the container on the back of his trailer at Felixstowe docks.

His counsel, David Melville QC, told Mr Justice Cresswell: "There had been a number of accidents at Felixstowe over time and Mr Mayes's was unfortunately one of those."

He said that Mr Mayes had suffered severe injuries and had never fully recovered.

The judge paid tribute to the care and attention given to Mr Mayes by his wife, Anna, following the accident.

I would not want any family to go through what we have Anna Mayes

After the hearing Mrs Mayes said: "Despite a number of previous accidents, the docks still insisted that he remain in his cab."

She said: "I would not want any family to go through what we have."

The couples' solicitor said: "The compensation will be used towards improving Derek's quality of life and giving him the rehabilitation and care needs which he so clearly requires."