A SCAFFOLDER has told how he had 48,000 volts of electricity surge through his body in a freak accident.
Dad Steve Gilmore came around to his own hands on fire and one of his legs facing the wrong way after he was electrocuted and fell off a roof in November 2021.
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Steve, from Ramgate, Kent, has had been at work in November 2021 erecting a temporary roof scaffold when a pipe he was carrying hit a power line.
He told the Mirror: “I remember coming round and I was on the floor, I had fallen off the roof. I knew immediately it was bad, I looked down at my hands and they were on fire, they were still smoking, my leg was facing the wrong way and that was smoking too. I knew it was serious.
“I woke up again when I was in the local hospital with my partner and brothers there, I could vaguely hear them talking, and the next thing I remember is waking up again at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital”.
Two years on he could still lose both of his hands – despite having dozens of surgeries to save them.
I looked down at my hands and they were on fire, they were still smoking.
Steve Gilmore
Doctors attached leeches to wrists for weeks to help his skin attach – but when that failed to work one of his hands were sewn to his stomach.
As a last resort, his right thumb was amputated – and now he must choose between a hand transplant or a full amputation.
Steve, who had been a scaffolder for 20 years, explained: “It still affects me every day, I’m there every time I look down at my hands, you need your hands for everything and until they are gone you don’t realise how important they are.
“It’s horrible having to rely on my partner, I have been employed since I left school at 15, always had a job – but to have that snatched away from me is devastating.”
“When the accident happened my son Ethan was just nine years old and for him it was really hard, he is a strong lad but he’s still only a child.”
Around 1,000 accidents involving electric shocks or burns are reported to the Health and Safety Executive in Britain every year.
Steve is now seeking compensation from Canterbury City Scaffolding Ltd.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Representing Steve, Jamie Day, associate at Slater and Gordon, said: “Steve went to work that day to do his job as he always did. It is unacceptable that through the sheer negligence of others he has been left with life changing injuries and is lucky to be alive. Steve and all employees have an expectation that their employers will take all reasonable steps to protect them from harm whilst at work.
“The Health and Safety Executive provide extensive guidance on work at height near live electricity, providing measures to be undertaken to protect individuals. In this incident, Steve’s employer’s failed to follow this guidance, which resulted in this serious incident.
“This is unacceptable and it is hoped that lessons can be learned from the failings in this incident, to ensure that someone else does not suffer serious injury in these circumstances.”
Canterbury City Scaffolding Ltd and their director Ian Pepper, 48, of Hoath near Canterbury pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in September.
Last week they were fined £50,000 and Pepper was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.
If someone suffers an electric shock, the NHS recommends you switch off the current at the mains to break the contact between them and the electrical supply.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Do not approach them until this is the case, and if they’re not breathing dial 999 for an ambulance.
Electric shocks can cause severe burns, as the body’s tissues heat up from the current, and also cause painful muscle spasms that can be strong enough to break bones or dislocate joints.
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