PERSONAL INJURY
ACCIDENTS IN THE WORKPLACE
A Safe Place to Work
What does the Law say?
There are regulations which place a wide range of duties on employers to ensure that work places are safe for employees. Many workplace accident claims will be dealt with under these regulations.
The law requires employers to ensure that workplaces are kept clean and that waste materials or other items are not allowed to accumulate on the floor. Floors must also be well constructed and be free of any hazards such as potholes, slopes or slippery surfaces. If you have an accident as a result of one of these, you would have a strong claim against your employer.
Similarly, if you trip over any objects that have been left lying around the workplace, you may well have a valid claim.
An employer must take special care if there is any danger of you falling from height and suffering injury. Suitable ladders or scaffolding must be provided. Measures must also be in place to prevent you from being hit by anything that is likely to fall on to you from height. If you are injured in this way and preventative measures are not in place you would be able to claim against your employer.
No. Your employer owes you many other duties. Amongst these are duties:
You may have a claim against your employer if you suffer illness or injury as the result of a breach of any of these duties.
Safe Equipment
The Law states that any equipment provided to you by your employer in the course of your employment must be suitable for its purpose, must be well maintained and in good condition. Your employer must also ensure that you have received suitable training in the use of the equipment.
The legal definition of equipment is drawn very wide indeed. This obviously includes common items such as tools, machinery, vehicles, trolleys etc. It also includes the materials that you may be working with such as paving slabs, wood panels, panes of glass and so on. Basically, anything that you use to carry out your job is likely to be equipment in the legal sense.
Your solicitor will be able to advise you further on this.
Not usually. The law places an absolute duty on employers to ensure that equipment is in good repair and is well maintained. This means that if faulty equipment causes your accident you will not generally have to prove what caused the fault.
Your employer is under a duty to provide you with training in the use of work equipment. If you have not been given this training and you then have an accident using the equipment you will probably have a strong claim.
If you are self employed you may still be able to bring a claim against the company that has contracted you. Similarly, even if you provide you own tools or equipment you may still have a valid claim.
Manual Handling
The law requires employers to take steps to minimise the need for you to undertake any manual handling tasks which may put you at risk of injury. If you do suffer injury while carrying out a manual handling task you may have a claim against your employer.
Manual handling is a title which covers any task which requires you to move or support a load by physical bodily force. This includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling and carrying.
Sometimes there is no alternative to moving items by manual force. Your employer must, however, take steps to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level that is reasonably possible. The employer should carry out a risk assessment and then ensure that measures are in place to address any possible dangers. Examples of such measures might be - providing a trolley, ensuring that sufficient numbers of staff are provided to do the job or by accurately labelling heavy items.
Please contact our personal injury department at either of our offices in Harrow (020 8427 6262) or Rickmansworth (01923 776211)
We will be happy to arrange a free interview in order to advise you on your potential claim.
