A student has settled his High Court action against his former employer, a Chinese takeaway, after being badly burned by sitting on a bucket of freshly-discarded hot oil.
The student, who is originally from Nepal, was working in a takeaway in Wicklow to finance his university degree at the time of the incident in 2015.
Counsel for the student told the High Court that his client had been on a break from work and had gone out to the back of the premises, where employees often went on their breaks.
Someone had left a bucket of hot oil from a deep-fat fryer at the back of the premises. When the student sat on the bucket, the lid gave way and he fell backwards.
The hot oil splashed up on his back and left arm. Counsel told the court that the student had been in ‘excruciating, unbearable pain’ and had suffered extensive burns.
Colleagues helped the man by putting water and ice on his injuries and bringing him to hospital. He had been left, however, with ‘life-changing injuries’ and ‘grossly disfiguring scars’, counsel told the court.
“The pain was really hard for me,” the student told the court. “I feel bad I will have this for my entire life."
The student was suing the owner of the takeaway for damages, claiming that there had been a failure to provide a safe place of work, and that the oil had been stored in a manner that was unfit for purpose and created an obvious trap for him.
The court heard that the issue of liability had been withdrawn and that the only the assessment of damages was before the court. Following talks between the legal teams, the court heard that the issue had been settled for an undisclosed amount and that the case could be struck out. The judge said the student had been a very impressive gentleman.
If you have suffered an injury at work for which you were not at fault, be sure to contact your solicitor. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.