Nurse awarded £88,000 after being hit by falling chisel

A nurse who was hit on the head by a chisel which fell 30ft (9m) from the roof of a house has been awarded £88,000 in compensation.

Tracey McFadyen was "suddenly and without warning" struck on the head by the tool at her brother's home in Linwood, Renfrewshire, in October 2021.

Lawyers for Renfrewshire Council admitted liability for the incident, which was caused by its employees who were working on the roof at the time of the incident.

Ms McFadyen was awarded a total of £88,693 after the Court of Session agreed the incident had left her with debilitating injuries.

The court heard how Ms Fadyen had bent down to wipe dirt off her trainers when the implement, which was 2.5ft (76.2cm) long and weighed about 4kg (8.8lbs), smashed off the right side of her head.

She was taken to hospital for treatment and in the weeks following the incident she experienced poor sleep and vomiting.

She also suffered from confusion as well as "putting things in the wrong place and unable to speak the words that she wanted to say."

She had pain in her right ear, tingling and numbness on the right side of her face. After going back to hospital, medics found she had sustained a small fracture to the right side of her skull.

The court heard how, almost four years after the incident, Ms McFadyen still experiences persistent headaches approximately four times per week.

She also suffers from constant, severe, tinnitus in her right ear.

The court heard that Ms McFadyen said her tinnitus is a "loud, persistent fuzzy noise" which has had a "profound impact on her life."

In his judgement, Judge Lord Braid wrote that she has difficulty sleeping and is unwilling to take sleeping tablets due to her job. The court heard that she is now "constantly tired and irritable."

He noted that she had gone from being "happy-go-lucky" to suffering from panic attacks and anxiety, becoming someone "who gets very uptight and who flies off the handle at her husband and children at the least thing".

The court heard that she has also been unable to go back to working in her former position and she is now working on an elective orthopaedic ward.

Lawyers for Renfrewshire Council admitted liability for the incident. They accepted that the accident was caused by council employees who had been working on the roof at the time of the incident.

Lord Braid concluded that Ms McFadyen's concentration and memory have been affected, reducing her ability to work.

He wrote that she is now fatigued and the injury has interfered with her social life and leisure activities.