A 73-year-old school caretaker in Britain Friday won compensation after claiming that he fell off a stepladder because the authorities had failed to show him how to use it, according to dpa. Anthony Gower-Smith took his case to the High Court after falling off a 1.80-metre high stepladder at a primary school in Romsey, in the south-western county of Hampshire, in 2004. He claimed his employers had not shown him how to use the ladder, but the local council denied negligence. Gower-Smith worked part-time at the school. However, the High Court judge in London ruled that the council was 75 per cent to blame for the accident. The amount won by Gower-Smith was not revealed. Gower-Smith, who had asked for 50,000 pounds (100,000 dollars) compensation, suffered a fractured skull, fractured cheek bone and kidney injuries in the fall. He has not been able to work since the accident.
