Employee sues after workplace injury causes temporary blindness

Posted 09/06/2010

A company is facing a personal injury compensation claim after an accident in which an employee was temporarily blinded.

Carl Woodbridge had been on a job for Rentokil Initial at a Milton Keynes shopping centre when he was hurt.

He had been pruning a group of cacti plants when one suddenly shot toxic sap into his eye.

The victim’s cornea was burnt and he was blind for a week. He also had to take six weeks off work to recover.

Mr Woodbridge states that he had not received any training on how best to cut the plants, or about their toxicity, nor had he been given protective goggles.

Consequently, he is seeking personal injury compensation from Rentokil, which he has since left.

According to David Hershey from the Mad Science Network, it is likely that the toxic plant was from the euphorbia family rather than the cactus family, as these species are more likely to contain toxic sap.