Chemical Eye Injuries Caused at Work – Can you Claim?

The vast majority of chemical eye injuries occur in workplaces, because a number of different industries use a variety of chemicals on a daily basis. Chemical burns to the eye can be divided into three different categories: alkali burns, acid burns, and irritants.

Alkali Burns

These are the most dangerous, as they can penetrate the surface of the eye and can cause considerable damage to the internal structure of the eye. Common substances that cause this damage include ammonia, lye, potassium hydroxide, magnesium, and lime.

Acid Burns

These are less severe than alkali burns, because they generally don’t penetrate into the eye. Acids usually only damage the very front of the eye, but they still have the potential to cause blindness. Common substances that cause this damage include sulfuric acid, sulphurous acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, chromic acid, and hydrofluoric acid.

Irritants

Irritants are the least dangerous of the three substances and are more likely to cause discomfort than long-term damage. Most household detergents fall into this category, as well as pepper spray.

If you have suffered any form of chemical eye injury in your workplace, then we can help you with your claim compensation. Get in touch today.

In your workplace, there are laws in place that your employer must adhere to in order to fulfil their duty of care towards their employees. It is reasonable to expect that you can be protected from preventable harm in your place of work.

If you have suffered an injury because of your employers’ negligence, then you can make a claim.

There are a number of things that your employer must do in order to prove that they are making the workplace as safe as possible, and to prevent chemical eye injuries from happening. These are:

• Carrying out regular risk assessments that address all potential harm in the workplace
• Giving all employees information about the risks that are in their workplace and how they are protected, in addition to instructing and training employees on how to avoid them.
• Consulting employees on health and safety issues. This consultation must either be direct, or through a safety representative that is elected by the workforce or appointed by the trade union.

If you have suffered from a chemical eye injury because of a lack of safety precautions at your workplace, we can help you claim the compensation that you need.

With each case being individually assessed, an exact time for your claims process is difficult to predict. However, there are two things that will have to happen before your claim is settled.

First, it must be determined who will be held liable for your chemical eye injury. If it has happened in your workplace, then this is most likely your employer.

Second, your medical evidence must be examined in order to assess how your injury has had an impact on your day to day life.

With the assistance of an expert solicitor, the claim process can be considerably shorter than if you were dealing with the legal aspects alone. Contact us today for assistance.