Carrs Solicitors have recently won two cases involving failure to provide protective equipment.
In one case Mr R who works in the construction industry sustained a serious hand wound due to his employer’s failure to provide suitable gloves. His job required him to repeatedly lift heavy objects over a sharp edged security perimeter fence without being supplied protective gloves. He sustained an extensive laceration that exposed the first joint of his thumb.
Employers must provide (and pay for) personal protective equipment under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992.
Personal protective equipment or PPE must be issued to the individual employee and a register should be kept to prove this and records kept of periodic inspections to ensure that the equipment is replaced when necessary.
Employers can be quick to deny liability where the employee has not made use of issued PPE but the equipment issued must be suitable and sufficient and employers must set the standards by requiring it to be put to use and to ensure that safe working practices are followed.
We have also recently won compensation for a factory worker Mr S who sustained a severe laceration to his foot due to the inadequacy of work boots provided by the employer at a glass production factory that were incapable of protecting the wearer from the shards of broken glass that were frequently encountered.
The regulations provide that the PPE provided must suitable and sufficient. A risk assessment must take place to identify the PPE needs of the employees which must be thorough enough to give positive thought to the types of hazard that the worker might foreseeably be exposed to in their particular work.
It is worth adding that the courts regard PPE as a last line of protection and that an employer who allows workers to face avoidable danger in the workplace will not be absolved from legal responsibility by making PPE available: wherever it is reasonably practicable, the risk of injury must be eliminated at source.
If you have been injured as a result of your employer failing to provide personal protective equipment's at work, get in touch with the specialists work accident solicitors at Carrs to make a compensation claim. Call 01204 496898 today or fill our online contact form.
At Carrs Solicitors, you will always have a senior solicitor who will personally handle every aspect of your personal injury claim and who will always be available to answer your questions. We are ready to listen and to offer free impartial advice in strict confidence.
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