Man who suffers a 11,000 volt shock files work accident claim

A man who recently suffered an electric shock of 11,000 volts that left him with severe burns has filed a work accident claim.

Powersystems UK worker Stephen Martin Edwards, had been employed joining high voltage cables at the time of the accident claim in the September of 2009. He had been tasked to join a transformer and a ring main unit together with an electrical cable by his supervisor, an electrical engineer.  After being told that the connection he had been instructed to work upon had been earthed and isolated he was mistakenly told to open an incorrect box instead.

Mr Edwards was hit with a violent 11,000 volt electric shock upon beginning work on the still live box.  The electricity traveled up his spanner and ignited his clothes, leading to personal injury claims in the form of severe burns to his hands, feet, chest, and arms. The severity of his injuries were such that he has not been able to return to work since the incident.

The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation into the incident.  The regulatory body discovered that the incident was contributed to by numerous errors including a failure on the part of Mr Edwards’ supervisor verifying the status of the line with test equipment.

According to the HSE, Mr Edwards additionally should have been issued personal protective equipment such as fireproof or flame-retardant overalls.  Additionally the HSE inspectors found that Powersystems UK Ltd neglected to carry out a risk assessment for the work to be performed.

The firm faced fines last week at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court of £5,000 for being in breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

No information has been made available regarding the eligibility of Mr Edwards in regards to a personal injury claim for compensation towards his burn injuries.

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