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Wrong goggles end in serious eye injury July 20th 2009
A steel erector received £6,500 in compensation after he suffered permanent damage to his eye during the construction of the new Wembley Stadium.
Ian Pearson, a 36-year-old member of Unite the union, from Newham in Nottinghamshire was working on the famous football stadium in December 2005 for Fast Track Site Services when he permanently damaged his eye.
The steel erector was hammering a steel pin into a hole when a piece of galvanised coating broke off and, because his employer had supplied him with the wrong type of goggles, shot into his eye.
The injury has left him with permanent symptoms including blurred vision.
Employer accepts liability
Ian, who no longer works for the company, contacted his union following the accident which instructed its lawyers Thompsons Solicitors to pursue a claim for accident compensation.
Fast Track Site Services, formerly based in Walsall but now dissolved, admitted liability and settled out of court.
Ian said it was important to him that his employers accepted responsibility for his injury.
He said: “I should have been supplied with the correct goggles. I’ve learnt to live with the end result of this accident and I don’t let it affect my life, but I hate to think how I would have coped if I had lost my sight.”
Correct Safety equipment could have prevented accident
Adrian Axtell, East Midlands Region Unite Regional Secretary added: “Construction workers wouldn’t dream of entering a building site without a hard hat - safety glasses are also a must-have item. However there are several types of glasses on the market and it is up to the employer to ensure that the type used is suited to the tasks being undertaken.”
Laura Hadfield from Thompsons Solicitors added: “Ian should have been provided with safety glasses which would provide his eyes with protection from all angles. His employer’s negligence means he has been left with long term problems with his eye, something which could easily have been avoided with the correct equipment.”
