Hot Oil Burns Man In Accident At Work

26th July 2013

A worker suffered painful burns in a workplace accident at a Lincolnshire frozen potato product manufacturer.

PAS (Grantham) health and safety manager Harvey Hopwood, 62, took more than a month off work following the accident, which saw him sustain 10% burns to his back, neck, shoulder and upper arms, Grantham Magistrates Court heard on July 22^nd. The injured employee later left the company.

He had been told to check how the cleaning of a storage tank was progressing and climbed between the top of the gantry’s guard rails, knocking a pipe that was linked to a pressure gauge. This came off, releasing 160 degrees C oil over the victim.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation revealed the firm had not completed a risk assessment before work began and instead would write the assessment retrospectively. Inspector Judith McNulty-Green described this decision as “foolhardy to say the least”.

She described Mr Hopwood as “extremely fortunate”, noting if he had not been dragged to an emergency shower following the workplace accident, the outcome could have been “very different”.

Ms McNulty-Green pointed out that the purpose of a risk assessment is to consider the dangers involved in particular tasks, and put measures in place to deal with these hazards to ensure that staff members remain safe.

PAS (Grantham) admitted breaching health and safety regulations and was fined £16,500 with £571 costs.

Accident at work compensation

If you have suffered an injury in a workplace accident that wasn’t your fault, then you can make an accident at work claim. You can be recompensed for your pain and suffering, as well as any other losses you faced.

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