New year, new litigious resolution. A man has been awarded £5,000 in compensation from a razor company after cutting himself shaving with one of their products, and making out like it was one of the most traumatic experiences of his life.
Nick Silverthorn, 48, from London, bought himself a new razor from his local Sainsbury’s in Richmond over Christmas a year ago.
Mr Silverthorn forked out £2.50 for a Wilkinson Sword Men Advance 3 razor, but when he began shaving on Boxing Day 2023, he started ‘bleeding badly.’
‘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 cuts felt different from previous cuts he had endured when shaving with other razors.
The gardener said he even suffered nightmares for months following the traumatic shave.
‘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.’
Sure enough, after inspecting the blade closely, Nick found that one of its blades was detached. He then decided to sue the razor manufacturer after the wounds took weeks to heal and left scars on his cheeks.
Having taken pictures of his bleeding face and kept the razor, box and receipt, Nick spoke to Express Solicitors, who contacted Sainsbury’s and were referred to Wilkinson Sword.
The big boy razor manufacturer sent the product for tests, and then offered to settle with Nick out of court for £5,000. Result!
Following his victory, Nick 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.’
Well, what can you say really? Nick’s story about having nightmares and flashbacks of blood dripping down his face does sound completely ridiculous, but at the end of the day Wilkinson Sword looked at his claim, pooped their pants, and immediately settled out of court with him to the tune of £5,000.
Would have been good to see some close-ups of the scars that Nick was supposedly left with, but I suppose we can take his word for it. Fair play to him for also bagging a few extra hundred quid from the Metro to publish his story! Quids in, truly.
For the waiter who won an unfair dismissal case after his boss ‘farted and wafted the smell towards him’, click HERE.
