Man wins six-figure settlement after workplace explosion left him scarred

By James Connolly

A teenage apprentice who was turned into a "human fireball" in a workplace explosion which melted part of his nose and ear has secured a six-figure payout.

Horrific pictures show Dwayne Bell, 17, with his face blackened and skin peeling away after the March 2021 blast at a steel yard in Wigan, Gtr Manchester.

He suffered third-degree burns and spent a week in an induced coma.

Now 22, he has secured a six-figure compensation settlement.

Dwayne said: "I shouldn't be here talking to you. I am lucky to be alive.

"It was so hot I feared I was going to be blinded the heat was so intense.

"This was an accident waiting to happen.

"I'm trying to move on. But I'm living in a body that feels like a prison.

"This shouldn't have happened. I wasn't supervised and no trainee should ever be put in that position."

He was an apprentice at Qualfab Steel Ltd and says he burned rubbish in a metal bin.

He said: "I was just a kid, doing what I was told.

"I was the youngest on site by 20 or 30 years.

"I was at Knowsley tech college for one day and then spent the rest of the week at the yard.

"I never had any real training on the dangers of what I was doing or given any PPE safety goggles - I was just left to it."

He had seen older workers do it "a hundred times".

When wet wood failed to light, he used paint thinner, unaware of sparks beneath it.

He said: "I didn't see the sparks that were already there as they were hidden by the wood.

"The next thing I knew, the world just turned orange. The sound was like a jet engine.

"I was standing in the middle of a massive flame. As soon as I felt the whoosh of heat I shut my eyes as I didn't want to go blind. It was like a bomb exploding in my face."

He said: "My colleagues came running over and tried to remove my gloves and overalls.

"As they did, my tracksuit bottoms underneath began to melt.

"But I opened my eyes and I was still alive and I was so thankful that I wasn't blinded."

He asked colleagues to take pictures of him.

He said: "I had feathers on me from the jacket and my face was red with skin peeling off but I didn't think it was that bad as I felt no pain. I never knew how bad it really was."

He said the end of his nose "melted" and he was rushed to Whiston Hospital.

He added: "I was being constantly sick due to the breathing tubes, I couldn't sleep because of the beeping and I felt like I was on fire whenever I moved.

"I was terrified my face would be scarred like that forever.

"I looked at the nurses and I just begged them to let me die.

"I couldn't see a future. I was wrapped in bandages, I couldn't move, and the pain was the worst I had ever experienced so I asked the nurses just to turn the machines off and let me go.

"But they wouldn't. It was horrific."

After three weeks in hospital, his mom had to care for him.

He said: "My mom had to do everything. I was helpless. And the pain was so intense and my skin would break easily.

"I couldn't sleep on my side because of my burnt ears so hardly got any sleep - it was a living nightmare."

Dwayne later had three skin grafts and will need further surgery.

Express Solicitors negotiated a six-figure settlement. Senior associate Neil Sagar said: "Dwayne has made a miraculous recovery from his life changing injuries.

"But he still lives with the consequences of what happened every day and his ongoing scars will affect his future career.

"Businesses need to make sure appropriate supervision and training are given to apprentices, especially when working with dangerous disposal methods."

Dwayne is now an apprentice welder at another firm.

He said: "I have to live with the consequences of what happened there every day. Now I just want to try and live as normal life as possible."

Qualfab Steel Ltd has been approached for comment.