Apprentice welder wins six-figure payout after ‘human fireball’ work accident

Warning: this article contains graphic images

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.

Dwayne Bell, 17, had his face blackened and skin peeling away after the March 2021 blast at a steel yard in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

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

Now at the age of 22, he has secured a six-figure compensation settlement.

‘I am lucky to be alive,’ Dylan said. ‘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, where he was the ‘youngest on site by 20 or 30 years’ when he burned rubbish in a metal bin.

‘I was at Knowsley Tech College for one day and then spent the rest of the week at the yard,’ he added.

‘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.’

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

‘The next thing I knew, the world just turned orange. The sound was like a jet engine,’ Dylan said.

‘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.

‘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 said the end of his nose “melted” and he was rushed to Whiston Hospital.

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

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