Thompsons has helped secure a prison officer £90,000 in compensation after an injury at work ended his career of nearly 30 years.
The 54-year-old POA member was left with a head injury, which forced early retirement after trying to help a fellow officer at HMP Holme House in Stockton-on-Tees.
An inmate, who should have been held in a segregated area of the prison, climbed on to a safety netting between landings and demanded to talk with the prison governor. Another officer tried to remove him from the netting by climbing onto it himself. The prisoner reacted violently, lashing out at the office and there was a confrontation.
Our client was called to assist and, while leaning forward over the net to pull his fellow officer to safety, ended up being pulled by the prisoner onto the netting. The force with which he was grabbed by the prisoner, led to the officer being thrown more than 20 feet into the air.
On landing, his head struck one of the bolts securing the netting. He suffered significant blood loss and was left with a 20cm laceration across the top of his head. He later suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.
Our client said: “It was a traumatic and devastating end to my career. Thompsons and the POA have helped me through what has been a very difficult time and their support has been second-to-none.”