The 18-year-old lad was spray-painting a lighting tower in a shed and accidentally spilled some thinners on his trousers. On his way to his locker for a change of clothes he passed by a gas burner that was being used to heat the workshop and was immediately engulfed in flames. He ran outside where colleagues hosed him down.
Sevenoaks magistrates heard that the incident on 26 October 2009 caused burns to both of his legs, his left arm and his hand. He was in hospital for 16 days, six of which were spent in intensive care. Since then the employee has undergone skin grafts and has been unable to work for six months. He has asked for his name not to be made public.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the spray shed had several health and safety failings. Paint containers should have had their lids on and been stored in fire-resistant boxes. The company should also have been aware that the mixing of paint and thinners in the shed would lead to a potentially explosive atmosphere, so a gas burner with an open flame should not have been used in the same space.
The company had done a risk assessment, but had not implemented the measures identified. A further management action plan, dated three years after the original assessment, re-iterated these measures, but they had still not been put in place at the time of the incident.
HSE inspector Caroline Penwill said: "The process of risk management involves assessing the risks that arise in the workplace and putting sensible health and safety measures in place to control them.
"In this case, the company had assessed the risks from paint spraying and had identified measures to control the risks, but had not put them in place. It is important that the findings of a risk assessment are acted upon. Had the company done so, then this terrible incident could have been prevented."
O'Keefe Construction (Greenwich) Ltd, of St Andrews House, Dreadnought Street, Greenwich, London, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court on 15 February. It was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,329.
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