An apprentice welder who was significantly burned after a workplace accident has received a ‘substantial six figure’ sum with the help of Express Solicitors, specialists in accident at work and burn injury claims.
Dwayne Bell, 22, was working at a steel yard when a routine task burning rubbish left him with third degree burns.
When a lighter failed to catch one day while burning some sodden wood, Dwayne did what he’d seen others do and what he had been told to do —he reached for a tin of paint thinner.
Dwayne, who was 17 years old at the time of the accident, said: “The bosses told me to get rid of the general rubbish, paper, cardboard, pallets of wood by burning it in a metal bin and that was one of my main roles on site. I was just doing what I was told by all the colleagues on site much older than me.
“I wasn’t supervised and no trainee should ever be put in that position. I never had any real training on the dangers of what I was doing or given any PPE safety goggles I was just left to it.
“As soon as I felt the whoosh of heat, I shut my eyes as I didn’t want to go blind. It was like a bomb exploding in my face.”
Over the next year Dwayne went on to have three skin grafts on his badly burnt hands with surgeons taking skin from his stomach and thighs leaving new scars in their wake.
Senior Associate Neil Sagar, part of our Employers Liability team, who worked on the case, said: “This was a tough five-year case. Our client was only 17-year-old when he suffered potentially life changing burns to 8% of his total body surface area.
“Despite his appalling injuries, the defendant’s denied liability throughout. Crucial to the case was the defendant’s own Young Person’s Risk Assessment that stated under 18-year-olds should only undertake work activities regarded as low risk & not be allowed to work in an environment where health is at risk from heat.
“Using this evidence along with further testimony from multiple medical experts including plastic surgeons and burn specialists, we were able to secure a substantial settlement. Now our client has returned to the industry he loves, and we wish him well for the future.”
If you have suffered an injury at work or a burn injury in similar circumstances, you may be entitled to make a claim. Start your claim here.
Read more: