Reiss Matthews, a Personal Injury Specialist within Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham has helped a West Midlands man claim compensation following an accident at work.
During the course of his employment, Mr E suffered a severe cut to forearm on a piece of glass he was asked to fit during a shop refit in December 2011.
The piece of glass Mr E was required to fit was very large in size and ordinarily would have been fitted by two people; our client also noticed that the glass was the wrong size and would not fit into the aluminium frame it was required to be fitted into.
Mr E rose his concerns over the size of the glass to the foreman however irrespective of this he was instructed by his supervisor to fit the glass alone. Whilst fitting the glass our client was not instructed to wear protective gloves or clothing leaving his hands and arms exposed. Mr E proceeded to try and fit the glass; however as he did this, the glass slipped and the sharp edge cut into this arm. The way in which our client was required to fit the glass without assistance or being required to wear appropriate PPE represented a breach of Health and Safety regulations.
As a result of the accident, Mr E suffered from a deep laceration on his forearm, which required stitches. The wound has now healed, but Mr E has been left with a permanent scar on his forearm.
Despite conceding primary liability the Defendant’s raised arguments of contributory negligence and argued that our client was in part at fault for his accident; these arguments were rejected and claim was settled on 100% basis.
Through the work of Reiss Matthews of Irwin Mitchell solicitors, Mr E received a four figure for compensation in settlement of their claim.
Reiss commented that although this was a positive result for our client, “that this accident was completely avoidable and just emphasises the need for employers to take note of and comply with Work Place Health and Safety Regulations as failure to do so exposes employees to a risk of serious injury for which employers will find themselves liable”.
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury at work, our
personal injury solicitors could help you claim compensation. Visit our
Accident At Work Claims page for more information.
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