Figures released by the Injuries Board have shown that workplace burn injury claims increased by 50 percent between 2011 and 2012.
The 50 percent increase is described as “worrying” by Stephen Watkins – the Director of Corporate Services at the Injuries Board – who, in a press release, compared workplace burn injury claims from 2011 and 2012 – during which time the number of accepted Injuries Board assessments increased from 28 to 42 (*).
Mr Watkins wrote in the press release that assessments with a total value of €1.33 million had been accepted by plaintiffs over the two-year period, with the average claim settlement being €19,066. He also listed the most common causes of accidents which resulted in burn injuries at work:
- Burned due to overflowing hot or boiling water
- Splash burns from hot sauces and liquids
- Clothes catching fire when too close to a heat source
- Burns from acids and chemicals
- Scalded by faulty electrical equipment
The highest-value accepted assessment within 2011/12 amounted to €106,949 and was for a chemical worker who had been badly injured in an acid spill accident – but Mr Watkins highlighted in the press release that the highest frequency of workplace burn injury claims were made by plaintiffs working in the catering industry or as cleaners.
It was also noted that tasks as apparently straightforward as making a hot drink could result in a burn injury at work when safety precautions were ignored; and Mr Watkins urged employers to ensure that all precautions were taken to prevent burns and scalds in the workplace, and employees to adhere to the safety instructions they were provided with.
It was revealed last year in the 2012 “Summary of Workplace Injuries” (published by the Health and Safety Authority) that women were three times more likely to sustain burns injuries at work than male employees, primarily due to the higher percentage of females employed in catering and cleaning.
However, when the Health and Safety Authority published the results of their “Chemicals Usage Survey”, it was shown that 67 percent of companies in Ireland – who use chemicals capable of causing a burn injury – had no formal training program in place to advise employees of how to handle dangerous substances.
(*) in 2012, the percentage of assessments made by the Injuries Board which were accepted by plaintiffs fell from 37.2 percent to 32.7 percent – implying that there may have been a further 80+ workplace burn injury claims in Ireland that were settled outside of the Injuries Board process.