Unite Legal Services has helped a member to secure £10,000 in compensation for the skin damage he contracted from working in an aircraft parts fabrication factory.
The member worked as a setter for a company producing aerospace fixings when he came into contact with contaminated coolant oil, which caused dermatitis, a painful and disabling skin disease condition affecting his hands, wrists and forearms.
He was prescribed steroid cream by his GP, which he still has to use to treat flare ups.
Unite Legal Services investigated the case and obtained evidence that the employer failed to provide suitable protective clothing. It was left up to the member to bring his own gloves into work to protect his hands and arms. The claim that Unite Legal Services pursued against the employer led to the member receiving a £10,000 compensation payment.
The Unite member said: “I spent years working for the company, and they wouldn't even take basic steps to protect me from developing a serious skin disease. When I contacted Unite Legal Services they stepped in and challenged the employer about the problems with my skin that I had been suffering from. The compensation Unite Legal Services obtained for me has really helped.”
Unite regional officer, John Walsh, said: “If this company had simply complied with its duty to provide appropriate personal protective equipment in the form of gloves, the risk to our member and the damage to his skin would have been avoided. Unite Legal Services has the specialist knowledge of this type of industrial disease case to take on employers whose negligence has caused our members to suffer injury.”
