In the UK the health and safety restrictions within the workplace are probably the toughest that they have ever been. You can’t do anything without the correct training or without the right equipment and this is the way that it should be in order to reduce the number of workplace accidents that occur every year; however this only works if employers follow the correct assessments and ensure that all their employees are trained in the correct health and safety procedures. Sadly, despite the improvements within health and safety, accidents within the workplace do still occur, causing serious injury to thousands of employees each year.
If you are asked to do a job by your employer you need to make sure that one, you can do what you are being asked and you are correctly trained in it and two, you are provided with equipment suitable for the job and that you know how to use it. If you are asked to do something within your employment that you aren’t completely comfortable and familiar with you should inform your employer of this and explain that without further training or knowledge of the job you can’t perform it. This will not affect your position within a company as it is the responsibility of your employer to make sure that you are safe when you are carrying out your job.
If the worst does happen and you do end up suffering a workplace accident then there are several procedures that should be carried out by your employer; for a start the accident should be reported in the company’s accident book. All workplaces should have an accident book so that if something does go wrong it can be reported and the necessary steps can be taken to prevent that accident from happening again. If the accident is more serious then not only will it need to be recorded in the accident book but it will also need to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), or in Northern Ireland the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI). The following must be reported to them:
• If a death has occurred in the workplace
• Any major injuries
• Dangerous incidents for example, the collapse of scaffolding, people overcome by gas
• Any other injury that stops an employee from doing their normal work for more than three days
• If any disease has spread
If you have suffered a workplace injury in the last three years then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation; you can do this via a no win no fee claim. This means that if your claim for compensation is successful you will keep 100 of the compensation that you are awarded. Your solicitor’s fees will be paid by the losing party, leaving your compensation untouched.
Compensation via a no win no fee claim will be awarded to put you back in a financial situation that you was in before the accident occurred. It is awarded to cover things such as medical expenses and any loss of earning that you may be suffering from while you are out of work waiting for your injuries to heal.
For more information about making a claim for compensation after suffering an injury in the workplace get in touch with a solicitor today, who will be able to guide you through your claim from start to finish.
Helen is the web master of Accident Consult, who are specialists in all aspects of http://www.accidentconsult.com/articles/showarticles/AccidentTypes/1/Accidentsatwork.html Workplace Compensation Claims.
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