Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Poor Workplace Health and Safety Causes Chainsaw Accident
23rd September 2008
In a recent case, our specialist personal injury lawyers assisted an arborist (often known as a tree surgeon) in a compensation claim for an accident at work in which he was badly injured by a chainsaw.
Injury at Work
Our client was using a large, powerful chainsaw at work, to cut a large tree into sections. The tree was around 4ft in diameter and the saw, although the second largest available, was shorter in length than this. This meant that the nose was fully embedded in the trunk whilst cutting.
He had only received training on much smaller saws, and only for situations where the saw is longer than the diameter of the tree, which reduces the risk of ‘kickback’ as the nose of the saw protrudes past the area being cut. He had only used this particular saw under supervision for 20 minutes a week earlier, and for a different type of task.
Whilst carrying out his work, the saw kicked back out of the wood, knocked off the claimant’s helmet and cut through his visor. He sustained serious facial injuries as a result of this workplace accident.
Personal Injury Claim
The claimant instructed our personal injury solicitors, who have extensive experience in industrial accident cases, to assist him in making a personal injury claim against his employer.
The defendants tried to argue that the training he received was sufficient and any additional learning could be done with on-the-job mentoring, however there was no supervision on the day in any event.
The Court rejected their argument and found them to be in breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The claimant was awarded a settlement of damages in respect of his injuries.
Accident Claim Advice
If you or a member of your family has been injured in an accident at work, road accident, or any other accident that occurred due to the negligence of someone else, it may be possible to claim compensation.
Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511 for cost free, confidential accident claim advice. Alternatively, complete a claim enquiry form online and we will contact you.
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