- Toni Brown was cleaning utensils at a Greggs concession store in a BP garage
- Industrial-strength washing up liquid ‘shot up from the bottle’ and into her eye
A mother-of-three claims she was almost blinded after industrial-strength washing up liquid squirted into her eyes while she was working.
Toni Brown, from Birmingham, was cleaning utensils at a Greggs concession store in a BP garage in Frankley, Worcestershire, last autumn when the cleaning product ‘shot up from the bottle’ and into her eye.
The 37-year-old said the liquid began ‘bubbling in her eye’ and left her in so much pain that she couldn’t open her eyes — meaning she was temporarily unable to see.
She called a taxi to take her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, where medics told her the super-strength detergent had ‘burnt her corneas’.
While she has largely recovered from the ordeal, Ms Brown said she is forced to wear sunglasses whenever she is outside as her eyes are so sensitive to light.
Ms Brown is taking legal action against Moto Services, which run the Greggs concession she was working at. Her lawyers say it has admitted liability.
Toni Brown, from Birmingham, was cleaning utensils at a Greggs concession store in a BP garage in Frankley, Worcestershire, last autumn when the cleaning product ‘shot up from the bottle’ and into her eye
Ms Brown was working a night shift at the Moto Services garage on the M5 at Frankley southbound in October 2022.
She poured washing up liquid into a sink to clean utensils after baking baguettes for the Greggs concession.
Ms Brown claims the detergent bounced back up into her face, immediately triggering a burning sensation in her eyes that left her unable to see.
‘It was instant. I don’t know why it shot into my eyes, I think the pump must have been blocked. My eyes were stinging and burning,’ she said.
Ms Brown went to a first aid box but claims there was no eyewash and only a single pack of plasters.
She called NHS 111, which advised her to go to A&E, so she called a taxi to take her to hospital.
Doctors spent six hours pouring litres of saline solution into her eyes to try and wash out the washing up liquid, she claimed.
Ms Brown said: ‘It was excruciating. The solution burnt my eyes and it felt like they were on fire.
‘They said my PH level was 11 when it should have between five and seven and it took them all night to get it down to its natural level.’
She was later transferred to Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre where she discovered the liquid should only have been handled when wearing PPE.
She said: ‘I had never heard this or been told this before. I was really angry I had never been trained in this.’
Ms Brown claimed doctors told her she had ’90 per cent severe damage to both eyes including cornea burns’ and that she would have vision difficulties for the foreseeable future.
She added: ‘The female doctor then asked me who I live with and I said I lived with my three children. She said I would be blind for the foreseeable future and may need future skin grafts. It was terrifying to hear this.’
Medics prescribed her four different eye drops, antibiotics and pills to try and prevent infection.
She says she was then left ‘completely blind’ — as her eyes were ‘stuck shut’ — for more than a week with her family washing, dressing, feeding and moving her around the house.
‘It was horrible not being able to see and having to rely on relatives for everything. I even had to use a relative’s wheelchair to get outside,’ Ms Brown said.
‘My kids and relatives had to bathe then peel back my eyelids every hour to put drops in because they had green and yellow plasma leaking and oozing from them.’
Her eyesight improved over the next few months but she says she was still left with blurry vision four months in one eye.
She now uses eye drops during the day and ointment at night due to lingering dry eyes. She claims her optician told her that her vision has deteriorated so much they have had to drastically increase her reading glasses prescription.
Ms Brown said: ‘The dry eye makes my eye constantly run. I can’t handle light anymore so have had to buy five different sets of sunglasses, so I always have a pair with me wherever I go.’
The 37-year-old said the liquid began ‘bubbling in her eye’ and left her in so much pain that she couldn’t open her eyes — meaning she was temporarily unable to see. She called a taxi to take her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham where medics told her the super-strength detergent had ‘burnt her corneas’
Ms Brown added: ‘This has been horrific. I never knew work washing up liquid could be so dangerous. My whole life has been affected as my eyes are really sensitive now and have to wear sunglasses most of the time.
‘Most women are known for their lipstick I was known for my mascara and now I can’t wear it as my dry eye makes my eyes and make up run, so I feel I have lost part of me.
‘I am now scared of getting anything near my eyes. Now I know how precious your eyesight is I am not taking it for granted.’
Moto Services have since admitted a breach of liability for the accident via their insurer after Ms Brown began legal action.
Ms Brown has not been working since the accident as she is ‘so nervous’ to be around any chemicals. She says she will return to employment when she finds a job she is ‘happy with’ that only involves working with chemicals if there is suitable PPE.
Workplace injury specialist Stephanie Osborne from Express Solicitors is handling the case and said any staff handling toxic chemicals at work need training and PPE.
She added: ‘Liability in this case has been admitted (via their insurer). All employers need to train staff properly and make sure they are protected at work.
‘This accident has greatly affected Toni’s life and eyesight and could have been prevented with proper equipment and advice.’
A spokeswoman for Moto Service Stations told MailOnline: ‘We cannot discuss this case due to the ongoing legal processes.’
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