Jane Cooper

Ms S was a kitchen porter at a farm café and was responsible for filling and emptying the dishwasher. A new dishwasher had been installed but the levels of cleaning chemicals automatically drawn into the machine were not set correctly, resulting in excessive levels of chlorine-based cleaning substances.

Over a period of time, Ms S was exposed to excessive chemical steam when opening the dishwasher. She was not provided with any appropriate personal protective equipment, such as gloves or mask, to protect her against inhalation of the fumes or to protect her skin from irritation and burning and she was not warned of the risks of exposure. As result, she sustained chemical burns to her hands that resulted in peeling skin as well as irritation to her eyes, dizziness and a heavy chest. She also suffered panic attacks.

As Ms S was local to Graysons, she knew of its reputation and decided to contact us to explore the possibility of pursuing a claim for personal injury.

Employer denied liability for injury to hands

Jane took up the case and pursued the employer, claiming that, amongst other issues, the employer had breached:

• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (“the COSHH Regulations”) which imposes duties on the defendant to protect its employees who may be exposed to substances hazardous to their health.
• The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, in that it had failed to provide Ms S with suitable personal protective equipment: her gloves were falling apart so that her hands were exposed to the hazardous substance.

Jane was also aware that the employer adjusted the amount of detergent after Ms S had been exposed to the steam and had reported her symptoms.

The employer denied liability.

To Jane, it was clear that Ms S’ job of repeatedly emptying the dishwasher throughout the working day whilst it was still hot and emitting steam, unnecessarily exposed her to the risk of a developing serious skin condition and other problems, as in fact happened.

With the benefit of medical evidence from a consultant dermatologist who confirmed that the claimant had suffered a form of contact dermatitis as a result of the exposure, Jane issued court proceedings.

Jane has substantial experience of employers’ liability claims and she was able to expose inconsistencies in the defendant’s evidence and persuaded it to settle the claim.

If you have had an accident or injury at work that you think was not your fault, contact our personal injury experts now. We will discuss your case with you – free of charge – and will let you know if we can take on your case. If we can, we will offer you a no-win, no-fee arrangement to pursue the matter.

Author: Jane Cooper