A man who was injured in an explosion while receiving training as an electrician at a quarry has been awarded £17,750 in an out of court settlement.
Steven Roberts was carrying out repairs on wiring at the quarry and had been given a volt pen voltage detector to check if the electricity supply had been turned off before proceeding. His colleague indicated that he had turned off the supply and when Mr Roberts used the volt pen to check the voltage, it did not detect any live current.
Unfortunately, the reading was false and there was still a high voltage flowing to the area. When Mr Roberts touched the wires, there was a huge flash. The explosion caused burns to his hands and face and initially he believed he had been blinded. It is possible that the accident could have been fatal were it not for the rubber boots he was wearing.
The injuries he sustained in the accident meant that Mr Roberts endured many months of painful recovery and he also developed post traumatic stress disorder.
Bringing a personal injury claim against his employers, Mr Roberts contended that the equipment had not been properly checked and that a higher level of overall protection should have been provided.
Mr Roberts’ employers initially disputed the claim but, after legal proceedings were put in motion, an out of court settlement was agreed.
If you have been injured at work as a result of your employer’s failure to make regular inspections of equipment to check for defects, you could be entitled to compensation. In this case, Mr Roberts’ injury could have been avoided had his employer provided equipment that was fit for purpose.
