Accident at work: Can I claim compensation?
Accidents at work are unfortunately common and if you have sustained an injury in the course of your employment you may be entitled to make a claim. The annual data published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), for 2023/2024 in Great Britain revealed that there were 138 deaths caused by work related incidents and in 2022/2023 it was reported that there were 561,000 non-fatal injuries.
Employers have a legal obligation to protect the health and safety of their workforce and If they fail to meet these obligations and you are injured as a result then you may have grounds to make a claim if you can demonstrate that your company breached health and safety standards in the working environment or for failing to protect you from a foreseeable risk of injury.
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Case Study
£4,500 received for care home worker following a lifting injury at work
Mrs. B was employed by the Defendants as a care worker, tasked with providing care services to patients in the community. One of her patients was unable to bear weight and required assistance for tasks such as getting in and out of bed and repositioning.
To facilitate the patient’s movements, a hoist was necessary, and the assistance of two carers was required. Additionally, repositioning the patient safely on the bed necessitated the use of a slide sheet and the help of two carers.
About a month before her injury, Mrs. B noticed the absence of a slide sheet at the patient’s residence, which was essential for safely repositioning the patient on the bed. She reported this deficiency to her employer twice in the month preceding her accident.
Moreover, for several months prior to her accident, the hoist required for lifting the patient to and from bed had been malfunctioning. It was too stiff for Mrs. B and her colleague to operate effectively. Despite this, her employer advised proceeding without the hoist, which Mrs. B did.
A few weeks later, while at work in the patient’s home, Mrs. B and a colleague needed to reposition the patient on the bed. Without a slide sheet, they attempted to do so manually. During this process, Mrs. B experienced chest pain and sustained an injury.
Following the incident, Mrs. B contacted Aston Knight solicitors, and a legal claim was filed on the basis that her employer failed to provide her with a safe place of work, a safe system of work, a competent staff of men and adequate plant and material and subsequently brought proceedings to court. Her employers vehemently denied the claim. Further evidence was gathered and witness statements taken. A careful and detailed review of her employers disclosure documents was undertaken.
However, after evidence was gathered, a favourable settlement was reached for Mrs. B in the sum of £4,500.
Does your employer owe you a duty of care?
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, your employer has a duty to provide a safe working environment for their employees and this applies to companies of all sizes.
This general duty of care cannot be delegated by your employer to another person, party or organisation.
If your colleague while working in the course of their employment has caused you injury as a result of their negligence, then your employer can be held “vicariously liable” for their actions.
A breach of duty of care can arise when your employers has failed to meet their legal duty and can include;
- Failure to provide regular and adequate safety training instructions
- Failure to complete risk assessments: Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, your employer is required to-
(i) identify what could cause injury or illness in their business (hazards)
(ii) decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)
(iii) take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn’t possible, control the risk
- Safe equipment and tools – employers must ensure all their equipment has been tested and is safe for use.
- Failure to provide adequate PPE – this is vital in some industries such as construction.
What are your Rights after an Accident at Work?
- After a workplace accident, understanding your rights is crucial to ensure that you receive the support you need especially during such a stressful time.
- First and foremost, you are entitled to report the incident to your employer who must record it in the accident book.
- You have the right to seek immediate medical attention, regardless of the severity of the injury.
- You may be entitled to receive (SSP) Statutory Sick Pay and if applicable contractual sick pay while you are off work due to accident related injuries.
- You have the right to request changes in your working conditions or additional safety measures to be put in place and you should have a meeting with your employer to address your concerns and of course you are entitled to seek independent legal advice with regards to making a claim for an accident at work.
- You may be worried about pursuing a claim following an accident at work in the fear that there will be adverse consequences, and you may lose your job. Employment law protects you from your employer treating you unfairly meaning you cannot be dismissed (unless the injury was a result of your gross negligence) or victimised simply because you have decided to pursue a claim as you should not be penalised for seeking compensation following an accident at work.
- If the accident was partly your fault, you may still be able to claim provided you can prove that there has also been negligence on the part of your employer.
What steps should I take after an accident at work?
In addition to reporting the incident and seeking medical attention you should gather evidence as soon as practicably possible and take photos and videos of the unsafe conditions that led to your injury – for example take photos if you are working in a warehouse and you trip over wires which have not been secured safely.
Do check if the incident was captured on CCTV and ask your employer to preserve this evidence to ensure it is not destroyed. While colleagues may be reluctant to provide witness evidence in support of your claim if they are still employed by the company, it is still worth taking a note of their details.
Documentation is key and will be helpful in proving negligence against your employer.
How do you prove your Employer has been negligent?
Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees and you have to show that they breached their duty of care by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the injury occurring. This includes lack of training, ignoring hazards and failing to follow health and safety laws.
You must establish a direct link between their negligence and your injury and demonstrate your employer failed to meet the relevant standard of care and the injury occurred as a result of unsafe conditions which can be proved in a number of ways including the submission of witness evidence, photographs/videos, CCTV, training records and highlighting previous accidents/complaints in similar circumstances.
If you would like to make a claim for compensation following an accident at work, please contact our office and one of our experienced solicitors will be happy to advise if we think you have a claim and explain the claim process.