£16,500 award for knee injury

A civil servant who suffered a serious knee injury when a faulty lift at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) went into free fall has received £16,500. An inspection report showed the lift had previously had 43 faults but it was not replaced. The lift was stopped by a safety beam, which was triggered by the speed of the falling lift and automatically slid into place just below the second floor. The lift bounced off the safety beam three times before finally coming to a standstill. The injured woman was forced to take two months off work while she recovered from knee surgery. The MoD admitted liability and settled the claim out of court.