The injured man, Mr N, was a bodywork technician and painter for a trucking company.  He had worked there for about 4 years and sometimes did other jobs such as removing panels from the trucks, fibreglass work and fitting parts, including light panels, bumpers, door, stereos and deadlocks.  He also helped with other garage duties and prepared trucks for MOT.

Fire gets out of hand

On the day of the accident, Mr N was working in a pit, grinding rotten spray flaps off a trailer.  It was dusty work and he had to go outside for a break.  Whilst he was outside, he saw flames coming from his pit.  He and a colleague got CO² fire extinguishers and tried to put the fire out, but the flames were too violent.  The whole pit and trailer were blaze and aerosols were flying everywhere.  At one point a loud bang came from underneath Mr N and threw him off his feet.  He landed on an airgun and hurt his hip.

With no regard to safety, Mr N’s boss told him, and another worker to go inside the garage and remove cars and trucks, which they did.

Fire service not told about kerosene leak

The fire service was called and when they questioned workers, some, who knew about a previous kerosene leak, didn’t mention it, as they were fearful of their employer. Mr N did not know about the leak at all and his employer told him to tell the fire service that he had taken part in a fire drill recently, which he hadn’t.  In fact, the only ever fire training he had received was on using a fire extinguisher.  There had also been an issue regarding contaminated water at the company previously, with people complaining about stomach issues and vomiting.  The water board had condemned the water for drinking, but Mr N’s employer had reacted simply by buying bottled water for drinking and not sorting the water issue out.

Man’s mental health suffers

A few days after the fire, Mr N was called into work with colleagues and told to clean the mess up, or they would be laid off.   Over the next 12 – 18 months, Mr N’s mental health deteriorated, and he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the accident and being forced to re-enter a burning building to save cars.  He felt unable to do his job and struggled with every day issues involving fuel and flames, such as filling the car up with fuel and cooking.   He had several weeks off work and numerous sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy.  His employer’s attitude towards him made the situation worse; making him feel that he was to blame for the fire and lying to the fire service about the kerosene and other issues.  The employer also gave work that was actually Mr N’s (painting) to someone else and made him carry out other duties.  It also made him work away from home for weeks at a time, was nasty to him and told his colleagues that he was going to be fired.  Mr N struggled with chest pains, was depressed, developed alopecia and was unable to go out socially.  During this time he received intimidating phone calls and texts from his boss.  His home life was affected, and he found himself arguing with this wife and kids for no reason.   He left the defendant’s employment and tried to take on a couple of other jobs, but his struggles continued.

Lucy wins £50,000 from employer

Mr N contacted Graysons to find out if he could claim compensation for his accident.  Lucy Flynn took up the case and contacted Mr N’s employer, claiming it caused the fire itself as it allowed the kerosene leak and failed to clean it up.  She also claimed that it allowed Mr N and his colleagues to work in an unsafe environment, failed to properly maintain the workplace and failed to take any adequate care of Mr N.

The employer denied liability, saying there was no kerosene leak and that the fire was caused by oily rags. It relied upon documentation from the fire service which had no reference to the presence of kerosene, although other witnesses agreed with Mr N’s claim.  Due to the dispute on liability, Lucy issued County Court proceedings.

Mr N’s psychological injuries made it difficult for him to discuss the accident, but as Lucy has lots of experience dealing with claims that involve complex psychological reactions, she was able to lead him through the process with care and compassion so she could pursue the claim.

Lucy is highly experienced in dealing with claims against employers, so she persisted and, despite Mr N only suffering from a minor soft tissue injury to the hip, which resolved within a couple of weeks, Lucy was successful in winning £50,000 compensation for psychological injury, treatment and future losses, including being disadvantaged on the labour market.

If you have had an accident at work and would like to know if you can make a compensation claim, contact our experts now and we will arrange a free of charge interview in which we can discuss your case.  You can also find out more about accidents at work on our web pages.