Accident in the Workplace
Every employer has to take reasonable care to ensure his employees’ safety. He has to ensure that his employees are safe when working; that he employs competent employees; that anything employees use is suitable; that employees work in safe premises; and that employees have a safe system of work.
If you were injured as a result of an accident at work you may have a claim against your employer. Generally, you must make a claim within 3 years of the accident. But, there are some exceptions and if you were injured more than 3 years ago, you should consult a solicitor immediately.
Summary of the law
Your employer’s duty to ensure the safety of his employees is very wide. Generally speaking, your employer is likely to be responsible:
(i) if you were injured by another worker when you were at work and the accident happened because your employer did not take enough care. For example, if your employer did not check that the worker was competent when he hired him or your employer did not provide enough supervision for you and the other worker;
(ii) if you were injured because of the way your job was done and the accident happened because your employer did not have a ‘safe’ way of working or did not make an effort to ensure that workers used the ‘safe’ system. Your employer may also be responsible if he did not provide health and safety training, sufficient supervision or consideration of any disability/inexperience you had;
(iii) if you were injured because of something you used to do your job and your employer did not provide you with the necessary, adequate and safe equipment to do the job safely. Your employer may also be responsible if he did not provide health and safety information on how to use the equipment, did not take steps to protect you from dangerous machinery, or did not maintain equipment free of defects;
(iv) if you were injured because you were not given protective equipment or because the equipment you were given did not work properly, was not safe or in good working order/repair condition, did not fit you properly or did not prevent/control the risk to your health. Your employer may also be responsible if he did not train you to use the equipment properly or did not supervise you properly;
(v) if you were injured when you were lifting, carrying or moving something and the accident happened because your employer did not take enough care your safety. For example, if the employer did not take action to avoid the need for you to lift the load (where possible) or did not tell you the weight of the load;
(vi) if you were injured because your workplace was not clean or did not have enough light or because you tripped, slipped or fell on the floor or on something on the floor or because something fell on you.
For your claim to succeed, you need to show that your employer’s actions or inactions caused your injury. If your injury would have occurred anyway, your employer will not be responsible.
You can claim compensation for:
(i) your pain
and suffering; and
(ii) not being able to do certain things because of your injury (eg play with your children, play sport
etc); and
(iii) loss of earning (to the date of trial and for future losses); and
(iv) present
and future expenses incurred because of the injury (eg travelling to the doctor, medication charges buying equipment to deal with your injury etc); and
(v) the cost or value of care that you receive and will need to receive in the future because of the injury.
You may be able to recover interest on your compensation. But, your compensation will be reduced if:
(i) you are partly to blame for your injuries, eg if you did not take enough care for your own safety or you failed to comply
certain legal safety obligations; or
(ii) you received state benefits to compensate you for loss of wages, loss of mobility and
care you received.
