Circumstances of accident
We acted on behalf of a client who sustained burn injuries to his feet after being exposed to a chemical at work.
Our client was asked to clean up a spillage by his employer. He was not told about the nature of the spillage or the name of the spilled product. He was not told to wear any personal protective equipment (PPE) beyond his normal work boots. Our client used a hose to clean the spillage which resulted in some of it splashing back on to his boots. It later transpired that the product contained sodium hydroxide which is subject to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).
His employer denied liability on the basis that our client ought to have worn PPE. We raised Court proceedings on our client’s behalf.
How we helped our client
As a result of the accident our client suffered from burns to both feet which resulted in permanent scarring. He also suffered from psychological symptoms. He required assistance with cleaning the burn injuries from family members following the accident.
We obtained supportive opinion from an expert specialising in health and safety. We undertook several investigations into liability including obtaining witness statements. We explored and identified the relevant health and safety regulations in order to bolster our case that our client’s employer had failed in their duty of care to provide him with a safe workplace.
We obtained several expert medical reports who dealt with the both the physical and psychological injuries sustained. These detailed the diagnosis, recommended treatment and anticipated prognosis for each of the injuries.
Settlement
We were able to obtain a settlement of £10,000 for all our client’s heads of claim. This resulted from a robust case being put forward on aspects relating to the employer’s liability for the incident.
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