Man gets £5,000 in compensation after cutting himself while shaving

A man was handed £5,000 in compensation from a razor company after cutting himself shaving with one of their products.

Nick Silverthorn, 48, from London, bought himself a new razor during the Christmas holidays a year ago.

He said he visited his local Sainsbury’s in Richmond to buy a £2.50 Wilkinson Sword Men Advance 3 razor.

But when Mr Silverthorn unwrapped his purchase and began shaving on Boxing Day 2023, he started ‘bleeding badly.’

He said: ‘I put on the hot tap and my shaving lotion and I was on autopilot.

‘I started shaving on one side with one stroke and then another stroke on the other side.

‘I noticed after a few seconds that I had started bleeding badly on my left cheek and then on my right-hand side as well and before I knew, it was streaming down my face.’

Nick, who has been shaving for some 30 years, said these felt different to the usual cuts suffered during the odd shave.

The gardener said he even suffered nightmares for months following the traumatic shave.

He said: ‘I had a bad experience with operations and blood in the past and it took me straight back and I kept seeing blood on my face in my dreams. It was a bad time for me.’

After inspecting the razor, the landscape gardener found that one its blades was detached.

Instead of chalking his cuts up to his own errors, Mr Silverthorn decided to sue the razor manufacturer after the wounds took weeks to heal and left him with scars.

He took pictures of his bleeding face and kept the razor, box and receipt.

Afterwards, he instructed Express Solicitors, who contacted Sainsbury’s and were referred to Wilkinson Sword.

After sending the product for tests, the razor-producing giant offered to settle with Mr Silverthorn for £5,000 with no admission of liability.

He said: ‘This was no ordinary shaving cut. It sliced my skin.

‘My cuts bled for over twenty minutes. I took action to protect others as they may not be as lucky as me.

‘This was a serious fault. It was a matter of principle to take the big boys on and I did and won.’

Jack Klein, the product liability expert who settled the case in 10 months, added: ‘Not many people who cut themselves shaving would think to sue one of the World’s biggest razor companies.

‘But Nick did and by keeping the razor as proof he won a settlement. It just shows that if you are injured by any product there may be a valid claim no matter how big the company are.’

Metro has contacted Wilkinson Sword for comment.

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