26th May 2006

Accidents at Work involving Gloves

Employers' Duty to provide Safety Equipment

To prevent accidents at work, it is essential that correct equipment is used. It is an employer's duty to provide any necessary safety wear such as gloves, hard hats and safety boots.

Clear Answers' Lawyers, Thompsons Solicitors, recently handled two different claims for compensation involving the use of safety gloves:

Gloves provided were not suitable

The claimant in this case was injured at work lifting a fish tank which had been fly-tipped. He loaded the fish tank onto his van. Its positioning meant that the tail lift could not be closed so the claimant pushed the fish tank forward with the palms of his hands. A glass panel broke, causing him injury.

In Court, the Judge found that the gloves provided to the client by his employer were unsuitable for the type of work he was expected to carry out in them as they only provided him with limited protection. Moreover, better gloves had been provided by the client's employer after the accident - the Judge decided that this was a clear breach of regulation 4 of the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations as the better gloves were available at the time of the accident.

The claimant won his case, albeit with a 20 percent contributory negligence for using excess force which resulted in breaking the glass.

The Judge rejected the defendant's argument that stronger gloves would not have necessarily prevented the injury.

Arm Burned at Work

The claimant in this case was a cook in a home for the elderly. While removing a tray of meat from the oven, the oven door swung back towards her, burning her arm.

The claimant's asserted in her case that long gloves should have been provided to protect her.

In Court, the Judge found that, since she had reported the oven door to be a potential hazard with its tendency to swing back in reports made over a 12 month period before the accident that her employer was at fault. Worse still, the Judge heard that long sleeved gloves had been delivered to the employer before the accident took place but had not been provided to the claimant. A manual provided by the employer only advised her to use oven cloths.

The claimant won her case in full.

Compensation Claim Advice

If you or anyone you know has suffered a personal injury at work, telephone us now for accurate claim advice.

Clear Answers' Solicitors are experts in all personal injury matters. We will be able to advise you whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation. Our specialist personal injury lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim and you decide to instruct Clear Answers to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for you. Telephone us now on 0800 783 9019 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.

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