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More accidents happen at work than anywhere else. In fact almost half of accidents occur in the workplace. However it can be difficult for employees to bring a claim for compensation if injuries have been suffered. Many are scared of the possible "repercussions" if they take the firm that they are working for to court. Generally these fears are groundless as all employers are obliged by law to have Employer's Liability Insurance, which should cover them if an employee is injured in the workplace, and action can be taken against employers who discriminate against employees simply because they are pursuing a legitimate compensation claim for accident injuries against the firm.
There is a strong crossover between liability in negligence (known by the lawyers as a common law duty) and duties which have been imposed by manmade law to cover specific situations (particularly Health & Safety regulations - see www.hse.gov.uk). There is a growing body of laws with which employers must comply or risk both criminal and civil prosecution.
Perhaps the first practical thing to do if you are injured in an accident at work and are going to be off for a period of time, is to make sure you get your statutory sick pay. This is payable for up to 28 weeks. If you are still off work after 6 months you can make a claim for long-term invalidity or disablement benefit. Also check any additional contractual payment which may be payable.
Your accident should be noted in the firm's accident record book (required by law if the firm has more than 10 employees). If there is no record book, or no-one has made a note of the incident then you should advise your employer in writing of the full circumstances of the accident and the injuries you have suffered.
But the question is "Can I claim?". You will have to prove that your employer has caused the injury by his failure to take reasonable care to prevent injury to you - his employee (there are different standards required in respect of sub-contractors or visitors to premises). This means he must provide
A safe way for you to carry out your work
Your employer must try to ensure that you carry out your work in the safest way possible bearing in mind the type of job that you do, the materials and equipment that you work with and the tasks involved. Whether or not he has done this is quite often just down to the facts of the case, but standards within the industry can often be used as form of benchmark against which to judge whether the employer has done enough to protect his employee.
If there are inherent or known dangers then the employee needs to be advised of these and properly trained in the tasks he is required to do in order to avoid them. If for example your job involved a lot of lifting then employees should be advised on the best way to lift the items in order to prevent injury, and regular checks should be made to ensure that these methods are being adopted.
Safe premises in which to work
Your employer needs to ensure that the place, or places, where you work and their premises in general are safe for their staff. The most obvious example of a breach of this duty would be if office floors were left wet or cluttered with files or cables, on which employees slipped or tripped up. But employers are also responsible for the heating and ventilation of their premises, the lighting and even the car park.
Suitable materials and equipment
Your employer is responsible for providing you with safe and suitable equipment with which to do your job, training you in how to use it, inspecting and maintaining it, and ensuring that it is used correctly through training and supervision.
This covers all the equipment that you may use from your chair or computer to a pneumatic drill or the dustbin man's dustcart. Whatever the equipment your employer has responsibility for it and the way you use it.
Competent staff
Your employer must ensure, to the best of his ability, that the people that he employs around you are competent in their jobs, and do not put others at risk by their actions. So if an employee injures another through a failure to use equipment properly, or a drink or drugs problem, or simply when messing a round, then the employer is potentially liable for those actions.
If you have been injured in an accident or an incident at work it is worth finding out if the circumstances would entitle you to make a claim - complete our free online accident assessment form and get a solicitor to review your case for free.
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