Making a claim if you have been injured at work
If you have been injured at work and the accident wasn’t your fault you may be entitled to bring a legal claim for compensation.
It is important that you seek legal advice promptly after an accident, as you usually have 3 years from the date of an accident to bring a claim for personal injury and related financial losses. Your solicitor will also want to obtain evidence relating to the accident and this is best secured soon after the incident has occurred.
Although accidents happen, it is established from decisions made by the courts that your employer has a duty to ensure you are working in a safe environment, which includes working with competent colleagues, adequate equipment and that the system of the work you are carrying out is safe. An employer must take reasonable care to protect an employee against a reasonably foreseeable risk of injury in the workplace.
Statutory Duties
Employers also have statutory duties to employees to ensure that the workplace is safe.
These include:
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
- The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
- The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
- The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Each of these regulations provide specific provisions which your employer must comply with. Whilst a breach of the above regulations does not give rise to a legal cause of action which would result in damages if successful, the standard of care owed by an employer to an employee is informed by these statutory duties and if an employer fails to comply with the regulations, this can be used as evidence of negligence.
Personal Injury Examples
Examples of situations which could give rise to claims for personal injury if you are injured as a result of these failings include:
- Your employer failing to provide you with adequate personal protective equipment
- Your employer failing to carry out appropriate risk assessments
- Your employer not maintaining equipment and machinery
- Your employer failing to provide you with appropriate training
- Your employer failing to remove hazardous materials/conditions from the workplace, i.e. wet floors
We Are Here To Help
If you have suffered an injury as a result of an accident at work you may be entitled to bring a legal claim for compensation and you should seek independent legal advice.
Contact our supportive personal injury team at 01525 378177 or Email info@ommlaw.co.uk to see if we can assist you with a claim.
