A tree surgeon who was badly injured in a chainsaw accident has been awarded an undisclosed amount of compensation.
The man was using a large, powerful chainsaw to cut a sizeable tree into sections. Although he had received some training, this had mostly covered the use of smaller chainsaws on smaller trees. He had only received 20 minutes training on the use of the larger saw and the job on that occasion had been very different from the one in hand.
The tree he was working on when the accident happened was about 4ft in diameter. This meant that even though he was using the larger chainsaw, the end of the saw did not protrude from the other side of the tree trunk. The result was that the kickback from the chainsaw was much greater than the man was used to and it flew out of the wood, cutting through the man’s visor and severely injuring his face.
The man brought a personal injury claim against his employers, arguing that he had not been given sufficient training in the use of that particular chainsaw for that task. His employers argued that he had received sufficient training.
The court rejected the employers’ argument and judged them to have been in breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The man was awarded undisclosed damages to compensate him for his injuries.
Work equipment is defined by PUWER as ‘any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work (whether exclusively or not)’. The Regulations impose a strict duty to ensure that work equipment is fit for purpose and that it is used only by people who have received adequate instruction, information and training.
If you have been injured at work by faulty equipment or because of a failure to provide training in the use of work equipment, you could be entitled to compensation from your employer. Contact us for advice.
The man was using a large, powerful chainsaw to cut a sizeable tree into sections. Although he had received some training, this had mostly covered the use of smaller chainsaws on smaller trees. He had only received 20 minutes training on the use of the larger saw and the job on that occasion had been very different from the one in hand.
The tree he was working on when the accident happened was about 4ft in diameter. This meant that even though he was using the larger chainsaw, the end of the saw did not protrude from the other side of the tree trunk. The result was that the kickback from the chainsaw was much greater than the man was used to and it flew out of the wood, cutting through the man’s visor and severely injuring his face.
The man brought a personal injury claim against his employers, arguing that he had not been given sufficient training in the use of that particular chainsaw for that task. His employers argued that he had received sufficient training.
The court rejected the employers’ argument and judged them to have been in breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The man was awarded undisclosed damages to compensate him for his injuries.
Work equipment is defined by PUWER as ‘any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work (whether exclusively or not)’. The Regulations impose a strict duty to ensure that work equipment is fit for purpose and that it is used only by people who have received adequate instruction, information and training.
If you have been injured at work by faulty equipment or because of a failure to provide training in the use of work equipment, you could be entitled to compensation from your employer. Contact us for advice.
