Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Maintenance Technician Suffers Cold Injury Through Work in Freezing Conditions
30th August 2011
We recently acted on behalf of a man left with permanent nerve damage because of working for prolonged periods in extremely cold conditions. Our expert personal injury lawyers pursued a claim against his employer and he received compensation.
Unsafe Work Environment
Over a period of several years, our client was required to work in freezers with temperatures of -27°C for a large percentage of his working day, servicing equipment and machinery. There was no recognised system for rest breaks from the cold and no designated warm up areas.
He wore all the personal protective equipment provided, but could not take this off when out of the freezer area as he was on call at all times, so there was no chance to dry out the clothes and warm up properly.
Because of his prolonged exposure to these conditions, our client suffered a painful cold injury to both feet and his nerves were permanently damaged. He was therefore no longer able to continue in his job and had to seek alternative employment, which resulted in a loss of earnings.
Employer Negligence
The claimant’s employer was aware of the dangers of staff working in the cold for long periods, but they failed to employ sufficient health and safety measures to prevent them from coming to harm and did not have up-to-date risk assessments in place for the work.
Our client was advised on how to look out for signs of frostbite, but not other cold-related injuries, so when he first began to experience symptoms he did not know what they were. He did report them to his employer however and a doctor also wrote to them, which should have prompted them to take action, but they did not and his condition became worse over time.
The company denied responsibility for our client’s personal injury, so it was necessary for us to pursue the matter to Court. We instructed a leading medical expert on cold injuries and, after two days of evidence and cross examination the Defendants eventually offered to settle the case. We secured £25,000 in damages for our client, in respect of his injury and related financial losses.
Industrial Injury Claims
If you are suffering from an industrial injury or industrial illness, caused by the negligence of your employer, you may be in a position to make a personal injury claim.
Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online, for cost-free, confidential workplace injury advice from our specialist lawyers.
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