Work accident

Accident at Work

Claiming Compensation for Workplace Accidents & Injuries
Accidents at work, or cases of employment-related ill health, are worryingly commonplace. Many of us will have suffered, or at least be familiar with someone who has suffered, from either an accident or a period of illness which can be directly attributed to our jobs. In many cases, compensation for accidents at workcan make all the difference in easing what may be a very difficult situation for the accident victim. Working with legal advisers on a no win, no fee basis ensures that you have access to proper legal representation.

This isn’t about a so-called “compensation culture” – it is about your legal and moral right to compensation where you have suffered as a result of the greed or negligence of others.Some Worrying Figures
Key annual figures for 2008/09 from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), the government agency charged with monitoring and protecting health and safety within the workplace, show just how commonplace these occurrences are.

Over this period, there were 1.2 million people at work who were suffering with an illness, either new or existing, who directly attributed theirill health to their occupation. 180 people were killed in the course of their work and a staggering 246 000 injuries occurred that were reportable to the HSE under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), or at a rate of 870 per 100,000 workers.


Types of Accidents at Work

The exact nature of any given workplace accident or illness will varywidely from industry to industry and it is obvious that the potential hazards encountered when working in a heavy industry environment will differ considerably from those faced in an office or retail setting. A definitive list is impossible given the huge spectrum of occupations. What remains the same in all is that an employer owes to each of his or her employees and the wider public in general, aduty of care.


Your Employer’s Duty Of Care

This duty of care requires that the employer take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the workforce and that the risks of any reasonably foreseeable incident are assessed and prepared for, with adequate training, protective equipment, or other measures as appropriate.

The key word here is ‘reasonable’ and we can assume that these aregenerally the actions of any considerate and ethical employer. Health & Safety legislation doesn’t require that every theoretical eventuality be planned for without regard for the practicalities and costs involved. It does, however, expect and demand that employee health and safety procedures are reasonably sufficient for the level of risk involved and the costs incurred to the employer areproportionate to that level of risk.


Reporting Accidents at Work

So what if someone feels that an employer has been found wanting in their duty of care to their employees? The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, sets out the framework defining what we may reasonably expect of any employer. It has been refined and updated by subsequent legislation and steps required to ensure the welfare of amodern workforce are now thoroughly prescribed.

RIDDOR 1995, for example, gives some advice about the various accidents and illnesses that may befall staff by nature of their employment. It also requires that the employer report details of any such incidents falling within the clearly defined categories, to the Health and Safety Executive. In addition to the more obvious accidents at work resultingin injuries of more or less severity, the RIDDOR legislation also requires employers report any work-related illnesses or diseases, or indeed, any incident that has required that an employee be absent for more than three days from work.


The Reporting process Leading to a Compensation Claim

Should an incident fall within one of the categories outlined by RIDDOR then it may be that it is...