Robert McBride Compensates Employee for Permanent Shoulder Injury
John Sides, a team leader with the Barrow-based cleaning products manufacturer Robert McBride, was compensated for a work-related injury caused due to negligence by the employer. The company paid an amount of 17,500 pounds as compensation to the worker in an out-of-court settlement.
Sides sustained the injury during the two-day use of a handheld grinder, used to scrape paint off the floor. He was unfamiliar with the equipment, having never used one before, and thus took no care to minimise the vibrations caused by it. After he developed excruciating pain in his right shoulder, he went for a medical check up only to find that he had suffered a permanent injury to his shoulder.
Sides was diagnosed with severe strain in his right shoulder owing to which he will never be able to lift his arm above the height of his shoulder. The injury has also rendered him incapable of performing tasks like painting and decorating.
Paul Morpeth of Thompsons Solicitors, the law firm that had filed the compensation suit for the employee, said the injury would affect Sides’ present calling as well as any other employment he will take up in the future. He lashed out at the company for not assessing the risks involved in using the grinder, especially since Sides was using it for the first time.
Employers must take into the account the risk that workers face and appropriate safety steps must be taken as are prescribed under the HSE guidance – click on Risk Assessment Training for information on courses which will enable organisations to meet their basic commitments to providing proper training and a safe work environment for their staff.
Tom Brennan, Regional Secretary of the workers’ union GMB, said Sides should have been made aware of the risks involved with usage of the machine and guided as to how any injury could be prevented.
