The circumstances of the accident are that the accident occurred on Easter Saturday, there has been no delivery on Good Friday, therefore on arrival at work on Easter Saturday there was a substantial amount of post for preparation and delivery. Sorters had been working on the Good Friday and when the Claimant arrived at her delivery frame she was faced with a wall, approximately 2ft high, of mail in front of her but preventing her from getting to her frame was a mailbag which she ordinarily have retrieved from her drop bag fitting, however the sorter on the Good Friday and filled the bag to its limit and dragged it over to her frame.
The Claimant was not able to commence working whilst the bag was in the middle of her frame therefore she decided to slide the bag that was full to the top with mail to one side with two hands and her foot, and on doing so she sustained an injury to her back.
A claim was brought under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and Occupiers Liability Act 1957.
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NOTE:
Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules allows a party to litigation to make a settlement offer before trial on terms that if the offer is not accepted and the opposing party fails to beat the offer at trial the Court is likely to impose severe costs and/or interest penalties. The Part 36 offer procedure can, if used wisely, be a very powerful negotiating tool and it provides a great incentive to settle.
Part 36 offers can be made by both Claimants and Defendants so either party can put its opponent at risk of serious costs or interest penalties by refusing to accept a well-pitched offer.
There is no longer a requirement to support a Part 36 offer with a payment into court which means an increasing number of Defendants are using this procedure.
If an offer is made by a Defendant who is then unable to pay within 14 days of its acceptance, judgment will be entered against him without the need for a trial.
If the offer is not accepted and a trial takes place the offer remains "without prejudice as to costs" during the proceedings i.e. the court will not be aware of it until the outcome of the case has been decided and the issue of costs is being determined.