The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have created a number of guidelines and regulations to prevent workers becoming injured in horrific accidents at work. One of their guidelines state that a risk assessment should be carried out before an employee carries out work, and that everything should be done to make that risk as low as possible.
The Daily Mail reports of a man who has suffered horrific burns to his face after he was engulfed in a fireball at work.
David Lightfoot had been asked to do some welding work on a silo at a chemical plant. The silo contained 380-tons of highly inflammable Terephthalic acid, a raw material used in the plastics industry. The Daily Mail reported that as soon as Mr. Lightfoot began to weld, a fireball engulfed his head.
When talking about his injuries, Mr. Lightfoot said:
“A colleague helped to get the flames out and I ran to put water on my face. To be honest I actually felt almost no pain at all, because I was in shock. But later in A&E, an incredible pain kicked in and my face swelled to the size of a pumpkin. I’m having ongoing treatment including seeing a plastic surgeon and I’m very aware of my appearance and feel self-conscious in social situations. This accident has changed my life. I feel really clumsy and I also suffer from balance problems as well as felling very depressed at times.”
Carol Jackson, of specialist industrial injury solicitors, said: “David’s accident was entirely preventable. The work he was asked to do should have been planned in advance and the dangers identified. There were 380-tons of this material in the silo on a site where health and safety should have been paramount. We are proceeding with civil action on his behalf to reach a settlement which will compensate him financially for his pain and suffering both physically and psychological.”
If you have been involved in an accident at work and would like to make an injury compensation claim, contact The Injury Lawyers for free legal advice.