Unite Legal Services and Thompsons Solicitors have secured £42,500 in compensation for a girl who fell down an unguarded hole in the floor of her friend’s home, which caused a fracture to her skull and a permanent back injury.

At the time of the accident, 14-year-old Jorja Dennison was staying overnight at her friend’s home in Leeds.

The teenagers were staying in a room above the garage in the house where building work was taking place. There was an opening in the floor in the room for the staircase, which the homeowners had left as an unguarded hole. Jorja fell through the opening and landed on to concrete floor below, causing a fracture to her skull and a back injury.

As a result, she suffered a major back injury and has lost her sense of taste and smell.

After the accident, Jorja’s mother contacted her trade union UNITE for advice. Unite Legal Services instructed personal injury specialists, Thompsons Solicitors, to investigate a claim for compensation on Jorja’s behalf. The homeowner’s insurers were made to pay £42,500 in compensation as a result of her injuries.

Jorja, who is now 19 years old, said: “After the accident I just didn’t feel like me anymore – I had chronic headaches, mood swings and generally felt low. Even now, I can’t stand for long periods of time and still suffer from terrible headaches.

“Having to deal with this on a day-to-day basis has been really difficult for me.”

Karen Reay, North East, Yorkshire & Humberside regional secretary at Unite the Union, said: “Homeowners are responsible for making sure their property is safe when inviting visitors into the home especially when you are responsible for minors.

“Thankfully Jorja’s mother had access to Unite Legal Services to seek advice on how her young daughter could be compensated after such a disturbing accident. Our legal service does not just help our members who have been involved in an accident, we can also provide legal support for family members too.

“Jorja will have to live without her sense of taste or smell and suffer with back pain for the rest of her life. To have to come to terms with this at a young age is not easy, but we hope Jorja’s settlement goes some way as an apology for something that will affect her for the rest of her life.”