A retired Unite the Union member has received £30,000 in damages after fracturing a vertebra in his spine, when an exercise bike he was using at a Gloucestershire leisure centre collapsed.

65-year-old Pete Brommage was taking part in a rehabilitation programme when the accident happened. As he attempted to sit on the bike, the seat came apart from the machine and he fell to the floor.

As a result he suffered a fracture to his vertebra, causing him to suffer back spasms which needed injections to ease the pain.
Pete later found out that the seat had been removed from the bike to allow wheelchair access, but hadn’t been replaced properly.

At the time, Pete was unemployed because he was recovering from a knee operation. He hoped to regain his health through exercise so that he could find a job, but he has since taken retirement as he was unable to find a new job.

He contacted Unite Legal Services who instructed personal injury specialists, Thompsons Solicitors, to investigate a compensation claim on his behalf.

Pete said: “I’d been out of work for quite some time due to knee surgery, but it was slowly starting to improve. This made me think that I could find a job before I reached retirement age, needless to say the accident put a complete halt to those plans.

“Not only is my back in pain but it has also created more issues for my knee. The injury has affected my day-to-day life to the point where I need to use a walking stick to move around. Unite Legal Services and Thompsons Solicitors have been invaluable throughout my claim, keeping me up-to-date every step of the way, ensuring that I received maximum financial compensation.”

Stuart Davies, South West regional legal officer from Unite the Union, said: “Unfortunately for Pete, his rehabilitation progress was dealt a cruel blow because of the poorly maintained poor gym equipment. The leisure centre staff should have known that the seat needed to be properly re-attached following its removal.

“Thanks to Pete’s membership of Unite, he was entitled to legal support which saw him receive compensation for his accident, even though it occurred outside of work.”