AN ENGINEER who suffered horrific injuries after falling through the side of a glass lift has received £3.4million in compensation with the help of a Dorset law firm.

The man, then 44, was left paraplegic after the accident on a site where building work was being carried out several years ago.

He had been in in a partially dismantled lift which was being used to transport parts. He travelled downwards in a lift car while supporting a 2.2metre high doorframe which had the electric motor and door-opening mechanism attached.

But the doorframe became unsteady and the engineer was knocked off balance, falling through the glass side of the lift to the floor two metres below, with the doorframe and motor landing on top of him.

The victim – whose identity is being kept confidential – took legal action against four companies involved in the building work, accusing them of a series of safety failures. All four denied liability but after a three-day joint settlement meeting, the victim accepted £3.4m in compensation.

Adrian Cormack, head of the personal injury department at Poole-based Coles Miller solicitors, handled the claim.

He said: “Our client suffered appalling, life-changing injuries because of a series of safety failures at the construction site where he was working.

“The size of the compensation package reflects the extreme severity of our client’s injuries and how much care and rehabilitation he needs to help him rebuild his life after what happened.”

The man suffered severe and permanent spinal injuries, including total loss of sensation in the lower abdomen, pelvis and legs, paralysis in the lower abdomen and legs, and impaired breathing.

He had 16 broken ribs, internal bleeding, a cut to the head which needed 38 stitches, a fractured wrist and dislocated knee.

He was in a coma after the accident and has since suffered short-term memory loss with the risk of other cognitive and neurological problems.

He suffers constant pain and stiffness in his right shoulder girdle and significant pain in his spine.