As solicitors who deal with work accident compensation claims, Camps Solicitors like to keep up to date with all the latest developments and notable court cases. One recent case which we read about in the national press concerned a man who received £70,000 compensation after inhaling concentrated sulphuric acid vapour during the course of his work which caused him to develop Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome, otherwise known as irritant asthma.
The victim who was 36 years old at the time of the accident was employed as a delivery driver. As part of his job he would visit the gatehouses or porter’s lodges of various factories and offices to drop off his deliveries. One on occasion in 2003 he was in a gatehouse when he was exposed to and inhaled concentrated waste sulphuric acid fumes for around 10 minutes. The victim suffered a major injury as a result of inhaling the fumes and brought a claim against his employer for breaching the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
His employer admitted liability for some of the injury, but disputed that inhaling the toxic fumes had caused the persistent asthma, instead arguing that it was more likely to have been congenital asthma triggered by infection. An out of court settlement of £70,000 was agreed, which included £32,000 for the injury and £38,000 for the man’s lost earnings.
A case such as this highlights the obligations that employers have to protect their staff from exposure to harmful substances that may cause them to be injured. In this particular case, even though the employee wasn’t in his employer’s offices, or even in his delivery van, his safety was still their responsibility.
The employee was left with a permanent condition which meant he lost his job due to sickness, and would suffer a significant disadvantage finding a job in the future due to the nature of his condition. Not only did he suffer from the physical injuries related to inhaling the acid fumes, but also psychiatric symptoms after losing his job, including depression.
In a case like this, recovering compensation for the earnings that the victim had lost as a direct result of his illness is very important, and when Camps Solicitors are assessing a case, we would always look at whether our client has lost his or her earnings as a result of the accident. In this way, our work accident solicitors can make sure any injury you may suffer has as little financial impact as possible.
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