Welcome to our guide on claiming chemical burn at work compensation. Experiencing a chemical burn at work can be a painful experience. In some instances, the injured person may experience permanent scarring. Therefore, a person who has suffered chemical burns may also suffer psychological trauma because of their appearance. Moreover, severe chemical burns can lead to a permanent disability that forces the injured person to leave their job.
Chemical burn at work
Workplaces should protect their employees from hazards, such as corrosive chemicals. Have you experienced a chemical burn in the workplace due to employer negligence? Then your employer may owe you compensation for your injuries.
Legal Expert can help you to claim compensation for chemical burns. We can connect you with a skilled personal injury lawyer. And we can offer free legal advice about claiming compensation for a workplace accident.
To see if you can begin your chemical burns accident claim, please call us on 0800 073 8804. Or you can use our claim online form today and we can get back to you.
Select A Section
- Introduction: What Is A Chemical Burn?
- How To Make A Valid Personal Injury Claim
- When Could I Claim Chemical Burn At Work Compensation?
- What Treatment Do Doctors Recommend?
- Potential Consequences Of Chemical Burns
- Where Could An Accident Take Place?
- Statistics For Personal Injury Claims At Work
- What Evidence Could Prove My Chemical Burn At Work Compensation Claim?
- The Initial Steps After Suffering Burns In The Workplace?
- How Much Could My Chemical Burn At Work Compensation Be?
- How Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me?
- Use Legal Expert For Your Injury Claim
- Further Information On Claiming Chemical Burn At Work Compensation
Introduction: What Is A Chemical Burn?
Chemical burns are burn injuries that occur if we come into contact with hazardous chemicals. A person can suffer a chemical burn on the skin or other places that aren’t protected, such as the eyes, lungs or lips.
Contact with the following chemicals can create chemical burns:
- Ammonia
- Sulphuric acid
- Nitric acid
- Sodium hydroxide
A minor chemical burn can be uncomfortable and painful but will heal over time. However, a severe burn can have permanent scarring effects. Moreover, in the facial area particularly, it can lead to disfigurement. Likewise, if hazardous chemicals get into a person’s eyes, they can become blind. Or the chemicals can damage the person’s vision. Therefore, a chemical burn can be a life-changing injury.
If you have suffered a chemical burn from work due to employer negligence, it’s only right that you can claim compensation. This guide will explain how to claim chemical burn at work compensation. We will also look at how burn injuries can happen. And what chemical burn treatments doctors recommend. To see if you can begin your claim, please get in touch with Legal Expert today. Or continue reading this guide to learn more.
How To Make A Valid Personal Injury Claim
Employers owe their employees a duty of care, which means providing a safe and hygienic working environment. There is legislation to protect people in the workplace, such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which states that employers are responsible for their worker’s health, safety and welfare when they are on their premises. Our guide to your rights after an accident at work has more information.
Moreover, there is specific legislation relating to chemicals at work. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 requires employers to conduct risk assessments and apply measures to avoid accidents relating to hazardous substances.
So, it could be seen as negligence for an employer not to carry out proper chemical burn work safety practices. By doing so, an employer could be putting their workers at risk.
Claiming Compensation For A Chemical Burn At Work
It’s important to note that you don’t need to use the services of a solicitor to claim. However, we believe that the support of a legal professional can make a difference. Your solicitor must be able to prove the following for your chemical burn at work compensation claim to be successful.
- First of all, your employer owed you a duty of care.
- Furthermore, your employer breached their duty of care, which caused an accident or incident.
- Finally, you experienced chemical burn scars or injuries as a direct result of the accident.
You may feel unsure about whether or not you qualify for compensation. You are welcome to call us and an advisor can assess your case. Then we can advise you on the best course of action to take.
When Could I Claim Chemical Burn At Work Compensation?
You might be owed compensation if your employer failed to reasonably protect you from chemical burns at work.
What chemical burn at work safety precautions should an employer take?
Employers should carry out regular risk assessments to identify hazards, such as those that can cause chemical burns at work. And employers should apply control measures to remove or minimise the risk a hazard poses to employees.
For example, an employer should ensure that containers are appropriate to avoid spillages that can cause chemical burns. Moreover, workplaces should check equipment regularly to ensure that chemicals do not leak and injure an employee.
Employers should also ensure that they provide workers who use chemicals with the correct PPE where necessary, including protective goggles and gloves. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 requires employers to do so as a last resort.
Additionally, employers must record injuries at work, such as chemical burns.
Chemical Burn At Work Compensation
So, if your workplace unreasonably fails to protect you from chemical burns, you may be eligible to claim chemical burns at work compensation. To begin your claim, please get in touch with us today.
What Treatment Do Doctors Recommend?
A chemical burn can be a serious injury. If you or someone else experiences a chemical burn, you could do the following to help:
- Remove the chemical from the skin. But be careful not to spread the chemical, or this could burn more of the skin.
- Remove any clothing that has been contaminated with the chemicals. Cut away the clothing to prevent chemicals from spreading elsewhere onto the body.
- Rinse the skin with clean, cool water. Do not rub or wipe the chemicals.
- Call an ambulance and follow instructions from the telephone operator.
If you can, please wear disposable gloves while helping the casualty. The gloves can protect your hands from being burned.
Hospital Treatment For Chemical Burns
A patient who has experienced chemical burns may receive the following treatment in hospital:
- The medical practitioners may continue to clean the chemical substance off the burn until removed.
- The wound may be cleaned and dressed. The dressing may have to be changed regularly to prevent a chemical burn infection.
- If necessary, the patient will get a tetanus jab.
- And the patient may be given chemical burn pain relief.
If your compensation for chemical burns at work claim is successful, you could recover the cost of prescriptions and bandages.
Potential Consequences Of Chemical Burns
Chemical burn injuries vary in terms of severity. Let’s look at the consequences of experiencing a chemical burn below.
Consequences Of Minor Chemical Burn Injuries
Minor burns injure the top layer of the skin. The burns may need to be treated at the hospital. If the patient experiences second-degree burns, the patient may experience chemical burn blisters. As a result, the patient may experience minor scarring.
Consequences Of Severe Chemical Burn Injuries
Severe burns may need to be treated with a skin graft and other plastic surgery techniques. The patient can still be left with chemical burns scarring even with treatment.
What’s more, if a patient has chemical burns on their eyelids or in their eyes, they may lose their sight.
Unfortunately, chemical burns can also damage the muscles and cause nerve injuries. Therefore, the patient may lose feeling or movement in the affected area. The patient may experience ongoing mobility issues. Consequently, the injured person may have to leave their job or struggle to live independently.
If you find yourself in such a situation, and your injuries were caused by employer negligence, you may be able to recover the financial losses if you make a claim.
Where Could An Accident Take Place?
You could claim compensation for chemical burns at work if your employer caused them through negligence. The following types of incidents are examples of how chemical burns can happen because of an employer’s negligence.
- A leisure centre could fail to take proper precautions to ensure the chlorine they use to treat their pool water is safe. Therefore, the off-gas or byproducts of pool chlorine could cause burns.
- A lab technician may not have been provided with the right personal protective equipment (PPE) by their employer for working with hazardous chemicals. Subsequently, the technician may experience avoidable chemical burn injuries.
- A hairdresser could experience a chemical burn from bleach if they are not provided with gloves to protect their hands.
Statistics For Personal Injury Claims At Work
There are regulations to protect workers who may encounter hazardous chemicals at work. However, despite these regulations, people are burned at work each year.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a government body that records injuries in the workplace as reported under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
HSE statistics show how many employers reported reported non-fatal burns at work, as we demonstrate in the chart below. It’s important to note that not all of these burns will be chemical; they’ll include water and steam burns too. What’s more, these burns will only be those that can be reported, meaning they:
- Cover over 10% of the body; or
- Cause eye damage, respiratory system damage or damage to other vital organs; or
- Cause the sufferer to be absent for 7 consecutive days (including non-working days).
As you can see, employers must take special chemical burn work safety precautions to protect their workforce. Even in 2020/21, when much of the population was unable to access workplaces due to lockdown, there were 983 reported burn injuries.
What Evidence Could Prove My Chemical Burn At Work Compensation Claim?
As part of your chemical burn at work compensation claim, you will need to provide some evidence. This evidence will be used to show both that your employer failed in their duty of care, but also what injuries you sustained.
Some examples you could use following a chemical burn at work can include:
- Medical evidence such as notes of examinations, test results, copies of any scans that were performed.
- A copy of your incident report from the workplace accident book.
- Other workplace documents such as training records, maintenance logs and PPE paperwork.
- Keep any articles of PPE that were defective.
- If available, you can request CCTV footage of the incident taking place.
- If any of your colleagues were present when you were injured, they could provide a witness statement. Make sure you have their up to date contact information.
To learn more about how you can prove employer liability in your chemical burn at work claim, contact our advisors using the number given below. Our team can also provide a zero obligation assessment of your eligibility for free.
The Initial Steps After Suffering Burns In The Workplace?
If you experience chemical burns after an accident at work, your safety comes first. Therefore, you should seek the appropriate medical treatment. However, you can also take steps to support your chemical burn at work compensation claim.
- Firstly, report the accident and ask the person responsible to accurately record the information in an accident log book.
- Secondly, you can gather evidence to support your claim, including photographing your injuries.
- What’s more, you should seek the appropriate medical treatment for your chemical burn injuries. Entries in your medical record can also be used when claiming compensation.
- And finally, you could get in touch with Legal Expert today to see if you can begin your accident at work compensation claim.
How Much Could My Chemical Burn At Work Compensation Be?
If you wish to claim chemical burns at work compensation, you may be interested to know how much compensation you could receive. You can use the table below to estimate how much compensation you may be paid in general damages.
General damages are compensation for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by your injuries. Special damages compensation is not included in the table. However, it is compensation for the financial losses caused by the injuries.
Legal Expert has based the amounts in the compensation table above on figures from the Judicial College Guidelines for personal injury compensation. (The guidelines are used by legal professionals when valuing claims.)
Compensation Table
Please note that the first entry is not a JCG figure and that this information has been provied for guidance only.
| Type Of Harm Caused | Severity | Guideline Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries plus Special Damages | Very Serious | Up to £1,000,000 + |
| Eye Injuries | Total Blindness | In the region of £327,940 |
| Eye Injuries | Loss of sight in one eye and reduced sight in other eye (i) | £117,150 to £219,400 |
| Eye Injuries | Loss of sight in one eye and reduced sight in other eye (ii) | £78,040 to £129,330 |
| Eye Injuries | Completes loss of sight in one eye (e) | £66,920 to £80,210 |
| Facial Disfigurement (Scarring) | Very Severe (a) | £36,340 to £118,790 |
| Facial Disfigurement (Scarring) | Less Severe (b) | £21,920 to £59,090 |
| Facial Disfigurement (Scarring) | Significant (c) | £11,120 to £36,720 |
| Facial Disfigurement (Scarring) | Less Significant (d) | £4,820 to £16,770 |
| Scarring of Leg(s)/Arm(s)/Hand(s) | One Noticeable Scar or Several Superficial Scars | £9,560 to £27,740 |
Special Damages
Special damages are compensation to reimburse you for any expenses associated with your injuries. For example, you can claim these costs if you need to buy camouflaging make-up to reduce your chemical burns scarring. Here are some examples of special damages you could claim:
- Medical expenses
- Mobility equipment expenses if you suffer a disability as a result
- Car or home adaptation expenses where necessary
- Travel expenses (to and from the hospital, for example)
- Loss of income reimbursement.
Make sure you retain copies of your payslips, as well as other documents such as receipts, invoices and travel tickets as proof of these costs.
Total compensation payouts can vary greatly depending on your particular circumstances. To learn more about how much compensation you can claim, please call our advisors today.
How Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me?
A No Win No Fee solicitor could help you claim chemical burn at work compensation. Because a No Win No Fee claim involves less financial risk when it comes to funding the services of a solicitor, you may find it the less stressful way to claim compensation.
How does a No Win No Fee claim work?
You will sign a conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), otherwise known as a No Win No Fee agreement. Under this, you will agree to pay a success fee if you are paid compensation. However, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay your solicitor’s fees at all.
Before you begin your claim, your solicitor will assess how likely you are to win. So, you know that you should be likely to win your claim if your solicitor chooses to take on your claim. And, you don’t have to pay an upfront solicitor’s fee. Furthermore, the success fee will be lawfully capped if you win your claim. So, the majority of your compensation payout will go straight to you.
Why not read our online guide if you would like to learn more about making a No Win No Fee claim? Or get in contact with Legal Expert today to see if you can begin your claim.
Use Legal Expert For Your Injury Claim
Have you experienced chemical burn injuries in the workplace that were not your fault? Then you could consider claiming compensation for your injuries. Get in touch with us today using the information below.
- Call us on 0800 073 8804 to see if you can begin your accident at work claim
- Use our Live Support widget to speak with an advisor
- Or contact us via our website
And if you would like to know about the service we provide, you can read our online solicitor reviews here.
Further Information On Claiming Chemical Burn At Work Compensation
We hope this guide to claiming compensation for chemical burns caused by a workplace accident has been helpful. Please feel free to read these guides to learn more about claiming compensation.
Cosmetic Surgery No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claims – How to claim compensation after being injured by cosmetic surgery negligence.
Accident At Work Claim – How to claim compensation if you have been injured in an accident at work.
£5,750 Compensation For Hair Salon Bleach Burn Claim – A guide to claiming compensation for a chemical burn from hair dye.
An NHS guide to treating acid and chemical burns.
A guide to burns and scalds from the NHS.
Victim Support could help you if you were the target of an acid attack.
Thank you for reading our guide to claiming chemical burn at work compensation.
Written by Chelache
Edited by Victorine
