A train driver from Yorkshire has secured nearly £6,000 compensation from Northern Rail following a serious back injury caused as he stepped onto discarded rubbish. Peter Kelly, from Selby, North Yorkshire, secured the damages with the support of his trade union ASLEF and their personal injury specialists Thompsons.

On the day of the accident, Peter Kelly, aged 49, was working on the Leeds to Ilkley route. As he stepped onto the train in order to drive back to Leeds, he stepped onto rubbish that had been thrown onto the train but not cleaned up. He fell backwards onto the platform and badly injured his lower back.

Mr Kelly explains: “The pain in my back was really bad but I didn’t go to hospital straight away as I hoped it would settle. We were due to go on a family holiday to the US a week later and I hoped the pain would subside, but it didn’t and my holiday was ruined. When we returned, I went straight to Selby War Memorial hospital where they treated me. I had quite a bit of time off work and even now I still have to take painkillers and can only walk short distances.”

Employer did not provide a Safe Working Environment

ASLEF official Nicky Whitehead comments: “For a train driver and other staff, the train is their workplace and Northern Rail know only too well that they are obliged to clean the train adequately in order to provide a safe working environment. If they had done so, our member Mr Kelly would have avoided injury.”

Representing Peter Kelly, Keely Goldup from Thompsons Solicitors in Leeds, said: “There are clear guidelines – known as Workplace regulations – which spell out the steps that should be taken by employers. In this instance, Northern Rail flouted their obligations and are paying the price.”

This news story was also published by Yorkshire Evening Post and The York Press