Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
School Cook Suffers Burn Injury in Accident at Work
6th June 2011
In a recent workplace accident case, our specialist personal injury lawyers acted on behalf of a woman who suffered burn injuries to her forearm. We pursued a claim against her employer and she received compensation.
Injured at Work
Our client was a cook at a primary school and, because of staffing issues, she was the only person cooking and had to work under pressure at a fast pace. At the time her personal injury occurred, she was lifting a large pot of boiling rice from the top of a cooker. To protect her hands from the heat, she wrapped the oven cloth provided around the handles of the pot. Unfortunately however, part of the cloth caught on one of the gas burners and the pot tipped, causing the contents to pour out over her forearm.
As she was not provided with arm protectors or a long sleeved tunic, our client suffered burns to the skin of her arm. She required hospital treatment and had to be signed off work until the skin began to heal. Because of her injury, she required help with personal care and other daily activities until she recovered.
Lack of PPE
The injured employee contacted our lawyers for assistance with a personal injury claim. She felt that oven mitts or gauntlets would have been more appropriate for the task than the oven cloth, which was a long piece of material that could trail and become caught.
We began a case against her employer on the basis that they failed to provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). They denied responsibility for the accident, stating that the cloths had been used for some time without any notable problems, so it was necessary for us to take the claim to Court
The Judge found no risk assessment had been carried out for the work and, if it had, it would have shown that separate oven mitts were more suitable than the oven cloths and they would have greatly reduced the chances of catching or snagging. He added that the lack of previous accidents did not necessarily mean that the cloths were suitable.
Our client was awarded damages in respect of her injury.
Accident Claim Advice
If you sustain injuries in an accident at work that was caused by the negligence of your employer, you may be entitled to make an injury claim.
At The Legal Line, our lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury and we can provide you with specialist accident claim advice on a cost-free basis. Contact us on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online.
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