One recently filed work accident claim has detailed how an Essex man caught fire while working for one cement company.
While he was employed at Lafarge Cement UK Plc in October of 2009, Mr Paul Ridings suffered terrible personal injuries at work while he was performing maintenance on a faulty energy reader. A live wire was exposed when Mr Ridings inadvertently moved a connection that was loose, which caused an electrical explosion and resultant fireball. Mr Ridings suffered serious injury after being caught in the fireball as his clothes immediately combusted from the intense heat.
After being admitted to Broomfield Hospital’s Specialist Burns Unit, Mr Ridings then spent nearly three weeks in total in the facility for treatment. Suffering terrible burns to his hands, face, arms, chest, and neck, the man’s injuries were so severe that he was required to have several skin graft surgeries performed during the course of his treatment.
After an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, the explosion was found to have been caused by maintenance failures to the facility’s electrical system. After an appearance at Basildon Crown Court, the company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety Act. As a result Lafarge Cement now faces a fine of £130,000, in addition to being held responsible for legal costs as well. After the incident, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive released a statement in which they said that it was only through extreme luck that Mr Ridings was not slain in the highly dangerous incident.
According to industry figures, approximately 1,000 workers suffer injuries in incidents involving electricity in the UK on a yearly basis. As a result of their injuries, many of these workers decide to pursue personal injury compensation claims.