'Metal man' is a medical miracle; Doctors 'rebuild' horror accident worker.Byline: By Alison Dayani HEALTH CORRESPONDENT MEET Birmingham's metal miracle man - scaffolder Darren Bell. Doctors have miraculously mi·rac·u·lous adj. 1. Of the nature of a miracle; preternatural. 2. So astounding as to suggest a miracle; phenomenal: a miraculous recovery; a miraculous escape. 3. "re-built" Darren with lumps of metal after he broke his neck and fractured his arm in 15 places at work. Darren, aged 33, has had more than pounds 3,000-worth of metal implanted into his neck, as well as being given a new metal wrist and pins in his right arm. "I can't believe what the doctors have done, it's amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. ," said Darren, who once feared he would be unable to walk after a fall at work. Darren, of Meadowvale Road, Bournville, said he tripped on the ground at the housing site he was working on in Leek leek: see onion. leek Hardy, vigorous, biennial plant (Allium porrum) of the lily family, native to the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. It has a mild, sweet, onionlike flavour. , Staffordshire, smashing through a wall. The next thing he remembered was waking up in a hospital bed and being told he would need a 14-hour operation and might never walk again. But since the accident in May, Darren's recovery has been beyond anyone's expectations. However, Darren feels let down by his employer SGB SGB Sozialgesetzbuch (Germany: social legislation) SGB Standards Generating Body SGB Super Game Boy SGB Society of Glass Beadmakers SGB Student Government Board SGB Steam Generator Blowdown SGB Steam Gunboat , a national scaffolding firm, and is taking legal action against them for allegedly breaching health and safety laws by allowing the site to become so untidy it was hazardous. "My hand is now held together by metal and I have to get a new passport explaining all the metal I have in my body," said Darren, who also DJs at Birmingham clubs as Darren D. "It was scary after the accident, I didn't know if I would walk again and didn't have a clue about how I would pay the next bill. "When I am in pain my girlfriend, Michelle Moorhouse, reminds me that I could have been in a wheelchair the rest of my life." Darren claimed: "I worked for SGB for seven years but after the accident, my bosses wouldn't get back to my girlfriend about anything and washed their hands of me. "The site was a mess and a few days before my accident, another builder had a nail go through his foot, but nothing was done. "I always worked hard and was loyal, but now I feel like I am just another number." Darren's solicitor Hilary Wetherell, from Irwin Mitchell Irwin Mitchell is a major firm of solicitors in the United Kingdom, with offices in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, and the Spanish cities of Madrid and Marbella. law firm, said more should have been done to protect construction workers. "Health and safety on a site in paramount but the site Darren was working on had debris everywhere and made it hazardous," claimed Mrs Wetherell. " Rules state it should be in good order and accessible so accidents like Darren's don't happen." A spokeswoman for SGB Services said: "The firm cannot comment at this time because a full inquiry is pending and legal action has been taken." CAPTION(S): AMAZING...Darren Bell.; IMPLANTS...Darren has pounds 3,000-worth of metal holding his body together.; ORDEAL...Darren Bell fell through a wall and woke up in hospital with a broken neck and shattered shat·ter v. shat·tered, shat·ter·ing, shat·ters v.tr. 1. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. 2. a. arm. Picture: Loretta Brennan; Photosales No: LB251007Bell-4; BROKEN NECK...Darren was left badly scarred.; INJURIES...Darren's arm was broken in 15 places. |
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