A Dundee waitress is suing Nando’s after she was left in “agony” when she was burned by cleaning detergent.
Mairi Espie was left permanently scarred after being splashed while emptying a container of dishwater detergent at the Nando’s branch in the Nethergate in December 2019.
The liquid was so corrosive it burned through her jeans and melted the skin on her right thigh – leaving the 21-year-old in need of specialist treatment at Ninewells A&E.
Ms Espie is now seeking a five-figure sum from the South-African restaurant chain.
Scarring to both legs
Ms Espie, who graduated from Abertay University in July with a degree in criminology, described being left with scarring on both legs following the incident in December 2019.
She said: “It was absolutely agony – it felt like my leg was on fire.
“I’m now left with a permanent scar in a really prominent place on my body.
“The burn was so painful. It took months to heal properly but it’s the scarring that upset me the most.”
“I’ve got scars on both my legs due to the splash going everywhere but it’s the right thigh that’s the worst. It makes me feel so nervous to wear shorts or skirts.”
‘Nando’s just fobbed me off’
Ms Espie was tasked with changing the detergent for the dishwasher but when she removed the old bottle from the appliance it splashed her.
Her case, which is being handled by Digby Brown, sets out that Nando’s was responsible for incident as it failed to carry out a risk assessment, failed to provide to PPE and failed to provide proper training.
“I wasn’t given any special apron or gloves or anything – we were just kind of expected to crack on”, she said.
“A legal action is not something I wanted to do but I felt I didn’t have a choice because after it all happened I felt like Nando’s just fobbed me off like it was nothing.
“But it’s not – how could the skin melting off your leg be nothing?
“If nothing else, I just hope it makes things safer for other people as there must be people all over the country who work in hospitality and see injuries like this all the time and think it’s part of the job, but it’s not.”
Workplace injuries ‘sadly very common’
Simon Hammond, partner at Digby Brown in Edinburgh, added: “Workplace injuries are sadly a very common occurrence but what’s really unfortunate is just how avoidable they are.
“If Nando’s followed simple protective measures then Mairi would not have suffered like she has and you only need to look at the photo of her burn to imagine the pain she must have felt.”
Nando’s ‘strongly dispute’ claims
A spokesperson for Nando’s said: “We strongly dispute these allegations. We cannot provide any further comment given this is an ongoing case.”
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