Poor personal safety equipment

Safety equipment or clothing, commonly referred to as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is designed to provide employees and workers with an extra level of safety. However, in many cases equipment is not supplied at all, or the equipment or clothing supplied is inappropriate or defective. Being provided with defective equipment, or clothing which is the wrong size, and being told that ‘it will do’ is simply not acceptable.
As Manchester based specialists who deal regularly with cases of people having been injured as a result of missing, faulty or inappropriate safety clothing we are regularly shocked at the attitudes of some employers and businesses. If you have been injured at work as a result of not having the right safety equipment, having to use defective or inappropriate safety equipment or being supplied with safety clothing that is the wrong size, call us today and find out if you have a claim for compensation.
If you work with something such as compressed air then you know that there is a reasonable chance of an accident or failure which could result in damage to your eyes. For this reason anyone working with compressed air or compressed gasses is usually required to wear safety glasses or some other form of eye protection. If this isn’t available, or it is damaged or broken then your eyesight is in very real danger. But there are also times when your employer may not have thought through the provision of safety equipment appropriately.
For example, there are situations in which both eye protection and breathing apparatus is necessary, but the two types of equipment may not be compatible. This means that either the eye protection doesn’t fit over the breathing mask properly, or the breathing apparatus can’t operate effectively. Incompatible safety equipment is another area which can cause real problems, and result in serious injuries.
If you work outside on the roads as a local authority worker then you will need to wear appropriate high visibility clothing, but if this isn’t supplied, or it is provided but doesn’t fit properly there are potentially real dangers. We know this not only because it is common sense, but sadly we see people on a regular basis who have been injured as a direct result of having no safety equipment, or being forced to use or wear inappropriate or defective equipment or clothing.
Personal Protective Equipment should be a high priority with any employer, and there should be clear procedures in place for its provision, inspection, maintenance, storage and replacement, and training should be provided to employees to ensure they are fully aware of what equipment or clothing is needed, and how to use it safely.
If your employer has failed to provide you with appropriate safety clothing, or has provided you with clothing or equipment which is faulty, defective or inappropriate, or you have not been provided with appropriate training in the use or wearing of safety equipment and this has resulted in you suffering an injury, call us today. We work on a no win no fee basis, so calling us to find out if you have a claim costs nothing, and you could end up with a significant compensation award.