Street Cleaner Wins Damages for Cut Finger

A street cleaner whose little finger was injured while he was clearing rubbish from the garden of a council house in Hull has won the right to compensation.

Steven Threlfall, 45, was injured when a sharp object in a bin bag severed the artery and nerve in his little finger and partially cut through the tendon. The injury required surgery to repair the damage.

Mr Threlfall was left with a permanent disfigurement and decided to bring a claim against the council, arguing that the gloves he had been provided with were not suitable to protect his hands from the kind of risks he could encounter in the course of his work. They were little more than gardening gloves, described by the manufacturer as ‘suitable for minimal risks only’.

The claim was initially rejected by Hull County Court. On appeal to the Civil Appeal Court, however, the three judges upheld Mr Threlfall’s appeal, finding that the gloves were not effective for preventing or adequately controlling the risk of laceration.

Mr Threlfall has been awarded an interim payment of £3,000 until a final sum in settlement is determined.