A FIREFIGHTER is suing a brigade for more than £150,000, claiming he tripped on loose door trimming in a fire engine and plunged to the ground.
Robert Anderson says he hurt his back and still has to use painkillers following the Boxing Day accident almost three years ago.
The 49-year-old was a part-time firefighter with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue and claims he had to quit the brigade as well as losing his job with an engineering firm.
Mr Anderson, from Dunoon, Argyll, claimed the accident happened after the fire engine returned from a 999 call in the town.
He went to Cowal Community Hospital after the fall and was later treated at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock for persistent lumbar pain.
Mr Anderson lost his job with engineering firm Storie (Argyll) and his contract as a retained firefighter was terminated.
He can no longer carry out "heavier household tasks" such as gardening and can no longer play football or swim, his lawyers say.
Mr Anderson is seeking the £150,000 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, as well as expenses for the court action, to cover loss of earnings and pension rights and in compensation.
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue deny they were at fault and say the sum is excessive. It claims Mr Anderson's own "fault and negligence" at least contributed to any accident.
The legal bid comes after the family of firefighter Ewan Williamson, who died while tackling a blaze in Edinburgh in 2009, launched a legal action against Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue for more than £700,000.
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