STEP 1

In this first step, you will read carefully the presentation of this unit (phrasal verbs have been highlighted in yellow). A full glossary below will help you understand it better. To get information in Spanish, just place the arrow of your mouse on any highlighted word without clicking.

In the best organised businesses accidents sometimes happen. Today's accident happened to a worker who had been using a grinding-machine in the fitters' shop.
Harper & Grant Ltd., like most engineering companies, has a fitters' shop where routine maintenance repairs and modifications are done on machine tools. Obviously it is in the management's interest to do everything they can to prevent accidents, but it is not always possible to foresee people's actions, in other words "the human factor". Two people react to the accident in a particular way. The first is Peter Wiles, who hopes that the accident is not fatal (a fatal accident is when someone is killed). But he is very concerned in case his company is sued for negligence.
Negligence is lack of proper care; in this case, in the provision of safety measures, or safeguards, for the men working the machines. There are various forms of negligence for which a person or firm can be sued for compensation in a civil court action. In the event of an accident the injured person could sue for damages which he alleges are caused by the negligence of his employer. If it is also found that statutory regulations, for example, the laws regarding health and safety, have been broken, the local factory inspector (a government employee) might institute criminal proceedings against the company. If the company can be proved to have been negligent, Reg Arnold, the man who was injured, may be able to claim a lot of money in compensation. Compensation, in this case, means money paid to an employee who has had a serious accident which has reduced, or may reduce, his working capacity.
The other interested person in the accident is the shop steward, Mr. Jack Green. He thinks the safety precautions are inadequate. A company can be held negligent even if it supplies goggles and other protective clothing and encourages their use. A court could rule that the management should see that its own instructions, or those of the factory inspector, are actually carried out. If Arnold were to make a claim against the company, he would almost certainly do it through his trade union. This is the main activity of a union's legal department. Incidentally, he will get money from the State while he is not able to work, and all the care he receives in hospital will be free under the National Health Service..

GLOSSARY:
grinding-machine = grinder: a machine used to cut or grind metal (esmeriladora);
fitters' shop: where routine maintenance repairs and modifications are done on machine tools (taller de armado o montaje);
shop: a department of the factory (taller);
machine tools (máquinas herramienta): apart from presses, there are three basic types of machine tool: 1) A lathe (torno), where the piece of metal to be machined revolves and is cut by a single-point tool. The tool itself does not revolve. 2) A grinding-machine or grinder in which the tool itself revolves. The metal removed is in the form of dust. 3) A milling-machine (fresadora) which works rather on the principle of a carpenter's plane. Material is removed by a stroking operation. The cutting-tool can be fixed or rotating;
to sue: to bring a legal action against someone, to bring them to court and make an accusation against them (demandar, entablar juicio);
to allege: to report, to inform (alegar, aducir, declarar, afirmar, sostener);
shop steward: elected representative of members of a trade union working in a particular shop, or group of shops, in a factory. A shop steward represents union members (representante o delegado del gremio);
goggles: necessary protection, or shield, for the eyes used when working with lathes, grinding-machines, etc. They are like a large pair of spectacles with side pieces (antiparras, anteojeras);
to encourage: to give hope or courage to (animar, alentar, estimular);
to carry out: to fulfill, to accomplish (llevar a cabo, cumplir, realizar).