If you suffer an accident at work, and it was through no fault of your own, you may have a successful claim for compensation. At The Injury Lawyers, we realise that claiming against your employers can be a difficult task to achieve; that is why law firms such as us are here to act on your behalf. Plus, employers should have liability insurance in place to deal with these types of situations, and should not treat you any differently due to the fact you have begun a claim against them.
There are many reasons why you may have an accident at work and a valid claim against your employer – some of these have I gone on to list below:
Slips and Trips
Employers should have high work place safety standards. By this, I mean that if floors are wet there should be adequate warning signs around the area, and there should be designated areas to place refuse and other items so they are not left in walkways posing a potential tripping hazard. Employers as an extra safeguard may even schedule regular inspections to ensure walkways are clear of all hazards.
Work Equipment
Equipment at work can make your job both easier and faster – this being said, they can also pose a risk to your health and safety. Work equipment should have all the necessary safeguards and stop buttons in place to protect the user. Employers should also ensure the user is fully trained in how to work with the equipment safely. In addition to this, employers should also maintain the equipment properly, and store it safely.
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE as it is more informally known, is equipment that you use or wear to protect you from risks to your health and safety. If there is a lack of PPE, or inadequate PPE, your employers are breaching their duty to protect their employees as far as is reasonably possible. PPE can range from safety goggles, to safety boots, to ear defenders, and they not only serve to protect from one-off accidents, but also fatal industrial diseases.
Manual Handling
If your job includes manual handling tasks, you should be fully trained in how to carry out these tasks safely. For example, if you carry out a lot of heavy lifting, you should know that there is a limit as to what you should be lifting alone, and you should be trained in lifting techniques which cause the least amount of stress to your body. All manual handling activities should be fully risk assessed by your employer.
If you have had an accident at work why not give us a call for some free advice.
