Internet Recreation

In a workplace accident that occurred in November 2005, a 59-year-old worker of a chemical manufacturing company received severe injuries in his right eye after Sodium Hydroxide dripped onto his face. The accident occurred at the manufacturing unit of Ciba Speciality Chemicals Ltd in Low Moor. The company makes chemicals for different industries and for water sterilizing plants.

While the victim was busy at his work, Sodium Hydroxide dripped down from a cracked pipe and fell on his right eye. He suffered permanent corneal damage because of the accident, which is characterised by reduced sight and excessive dryness in the eye.

The accident was so severe that the worker’s eyelid went into his eye and his hair follicles had to be removed by a critical surgery.

In an interview, the worker revealed that he has already been suffered from poor eyesight in his left eye since birth, and now, as the accident has affected his right eye, it has become very difficult for him to perform his daily tasks. He said that he had to give up driving at night after the accident. He also had to quit his job because of the injury. He added that if the surgeons had not successfully operated upon his eye, he would have been left totally blind.

Following the accident, the worker approached his union, which in turn hired Thompsons Solicitors to file a compensation suit against Ciba Speciality Chemicals. The company went in for an out-of-court settlement and paid £100,000 as compensation to the worker.

Commenting about the case, Tim Roache from the GMB said that the accident was the employer’s fault, as proper risk assessment was not done, nor were the pipes checked at regular intervals. In this respect, Roache added that companies that manufacture chemicals must ensure that the health and safety of their workers are not compromised in any way, and that the companies should take proper precaution in this regard.

Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions with effective policies around health and safety decisions. Workplace Law is a major provider of accredited health and safety training, with well established study programmes for IOSH and NEBOSH courses covering a full range of training from risk assessment to fire risk assessment to assist in the development and implementation of safety systems within the workplace environment.