£60,000 obtained for mechanic injured at work

Louise Harper, a personal injury specialist at Ashtons Legal, has obtained a £60,000 settlement for Mr P whose vision has been permanently impaired by getting a steel splinter in his eye while at work.

Mr P worked in a garage as a Senior Vehicle Technician and was asked to service a van. Mr P’s employers did not provide any protective eye wear in the work place. When it came to removing the wheels he realised that he didn’t have the locking wheel nut socket and asked what he should do next. His manager instructed him to remove the wheels by whatever means was necessary as the van was needed in roadworthy condition. Mr P knocked the bolt anti-clockwise to loosen it, which was common practice. He immediately felt a sharp pain in his eye which turned out to be a steel splinter.

Louise Harper comments: “This is a classic example of an employee being encouraged by a manager to do something that was clearly not safe and was not provided with the correct personal protective equipment to ensure his eyes were protected; as a result he suffered an injury. Sadly for Mr P, he has suffered permanent damage to his eye and there will be limitations to the work he will be able to do in the future. Mr P’s employers attempted to discourage Mr P from bringing a personal injury claim, after the claim was submitted, the employer then purchased protective eye wear for all employees. Unfortunately we see this all too often when employers do not act to ensure their employees safety until after there has been a serious injury.”