Workplaces can be dangerous environments and it is important that the proper safety procedures are followed at all times. Work accident compensation claims can seem like a legal minefield for people who have suffered bad injuries. Fortunately, there are work accident claim professionals who are willing to take the heat off people struggling with work-related injuries by offering unbiased advice that could get them the money that they deserve.
However, it is always best to prevent accidents before they happen. One dad of three children from Morecambe has been left with horrific injuries following an explosion at work. He says that his injuries are so bad that he can no longer give his kids a cuddle following the dreadful accident.
Karol Robaczewski was left almost completely paralysed after a fireball engulfed him while he was cleaning a fuel tank. With his lips badly burned, hair and eyebrows burned off, and arms, legs and face all badly affected, the 38-year-old was left in a terrible state and had to spend three months in hospital to recover from the initial blast injuries. Now stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Mr Robaxzewski’s employers have been forced to pay compensation. Heysham airport fuel tank manufacturer Fuel Proof Ltd were ordered to pay £91,000 after they were convicted of serious safety failings. Mr Robaczewski said:
“I wish that what has happened to me never happens to anyone else. I am not able to lift my arms, move my legs and feet or hold anything in my fingers and hands. Every morning after breakfast, I am moved into my wheelchair and stay there until it’s time for bed. Generally, I am very bored and frustrated. I am not able to do anything I used to do before the accident such as drive a car, go to karate sessions or play my trumpet which I played since the age of 12. I can’t play football with my son or give my children a cuddle, and my life will never be the same again.”
Mr Robaczewski had been cleaning the inside of a bowser when he decided that the lamp inside the tank was getting far too hot. As he pulled the plug from its socket a spark flew out thus surrounding him with flames. The heat was so fierce that the visor on his mask and protective suit were melted entirely. A Health and Safety Executive investigation found the method of cleaning the fuel tanks with a highly flammable solvent had been used since 2007, but the company had failed to carry out any type of risk assessment.
Workers were not supervised whilst in the tank, and fumes were not monitored. It was also found that the masks and lighting were unsuitable. The work injury compensation that Mr Robaczewski received should help him recover further as he adjusts to a new way of living that he never asked for. Hopefully, others will not have to go through the same experience as his.
About the Author – Sarah Makinson blogs regularly for a number of consumer sites, including What’s My Claim Worth.