Personal injury compensation news
14/09/2007
Scalded teen wins damages from restaurant

A teenager has been awarded £5,000 in personal injury compensation after being severely scalded in a work accident.

The 17-year-old student was working in a restaurant kitchen in Kent when he slipped whilst carrying a pan containing 15 litres of boiling water. The water spilled onto his face, legs and left arm and he was rushed to the nearby Queen Mary's Hospital to receive emergency treatment.

Such was the extent of the young man's personal injuries that he was then transferred to the burns unit at East Grinstead Hospital for expert care.

Finally recovered from the December 2006 accident at work, the teenager decided to employ a no win no fee personal injury solicitor and make an accident claim against the restaurant owners.

A court ruled that the practice of carrying and emptying excessively large pans of boiling water was dangerous and the youngster should not have been required to carry out the hazardous work.

The teenager was subsequently awarded £5,000 in personal injury compensation and the restaurant owner was fined £20,000 for contravening the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

A spokesman for the Bexley restaurant, which is now under new ownership, said, "All our staff have been retrained and our rigorous health and safety procedures have been implemented."