Compensation claim news
28/10/2009

Family could make work accident claim

Breaches in health and safety regulations at an engineering firm in Chulmleigh, Devon led to the death of a worker a court heard recently and could now lead to a work accident claim being made through the civil courts by the deceased worker's family.

The father and son who ran the business as directors pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The firm was also found to have breached sections 2 and 3 of the Act.

The court heard that failures in safe working procedure led to the death of the 40-year-old worker when a coolant drum exploded in April 2006.

The worker had been practice welding on a makeshift workbench which consisted of a metal plate balanced on an old coolant drum. The highly flammable liquids still inside the drum caught fire and the subsequent blast caused the worker to suffer serious head injuries. He died later in hospital as a result of these injuries.

A health and safety inspector said that, as a welding beginner and still only one month into his employment at the firm, the worker should never found himself in the risk-filled environment in which the work accident occurred.

She added, "This terrible tragedy was the result of years of inadequate health and safety management and could have been avoided if proper systems had been adopted by the company."

The company were fined a total of £85,000, and could now also face the prospect of further payments if a work accident claim for compensation is pursued through a personal injury solicitor.