If you are unfortunate enough to suffer an accident or injury at work which was not your fault, you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim for compensation.
As with any accident compensation claim, this would require you to prove that your accident, injury or disease came as a result of the negligence of your employer
What are your employer’s liabilities?
Accidents can happen, but in many cases they can be avoided. Employers have a duty to protect their staff, contractors and visitors from accidents and injuries, as well as keep employees informed about safety issues that affect them. They are required by law to take steps to prevent accidents at work, which include:
• Providing employees with adequate health and safety training and keeping updated training records
• Ensuring all workers have the necessary accreditations or qualifications for undertaking a particular task
• Providing employees with the necessary machinery and tools to do their job, and that these tools are properly maintained
• The workplace is kept in a safe and tidy condition – this means suitable workstations and hazard-free doors and corridors
• Providing employees with the appropriate safety wear in order to complete their jobs (this includes hard hats, ear defenders, dust mask, safety boots and so on)
What sort of accidents can occur?
Even the most mundane of hazards could cause great harm. Accidents or injury can be both physical and psychological and can occur in a great many places, such as:
• Construction sites, factories or warehouses – with so much physical work taking place, accidents can be common. These can be caused by faulty machinery, inadequate training, exposure to chemicals or asbestos, as well as slips and falls from ladders or scaffolding
• Offices – common injuries here include slips, trips and falls due to inadequate cleaning, or by misusing equipment. There is also the potential for workplace bullying or other psychological traumas through intense work pressures
• Nightclubs and bars – while slips and trips are common, so too are cases of industrial deafness owing to excessive noise, or violent behaviour leading to physical assaults and attacks
How should an accident be reported?
Reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). All employers must keep an accident book (BI150) in which any major injury, injury that leaves an employee unable to work for over three days, work-related disease, dangerous occurrence, death, or instance where a member of the public is taken directly to hospital.
If you are involved in an incident, it is in your interest to ensure that your employer records the details accurately. If you think that employer’s negligence is the cause of your accident, wherever possible you should collect your own details such as names of witnesses and photographs of what may have caused your accident. You should also seek professional medical attention to record your injury and any treatment. All will prove useful evidence if you wish to make a claim.
Seeking compensation
Any claim you make must be within three years of the date of the accident,unless the accident happened at sea or in the air. If you are under the age of 18, and the three year period applies, that three year period runs from your 18th birthday.
