However, personal injuries can and do happen in office environments more than most people think. You can do your bit to try and prevent personal injuries occurring in the office, which in reality is actually a very important requirement.
No doubt your employers will have given you a ticking off for leaving your belongings on the floor and causing a tripping hazard, for one example. By keeping the office tidy and employing a common sense approach, most office accidents could be avoided.
The practical measures are simple enough to adopt and include things such as the following:
- Do not leave bags, belongings, boxes, wires or other objects on the floor where someone could trip over them;
- Clean any spillages immediately;
- Do not place objects on a high shelf where they could fall on someone or make it difficult for a colleague to reach something;
- Do not leave draws or filing cabinets open as they cause a protrusion;
- Do not lift anything you are not allowed to do so, or ask a senior colleague if you are unsure about something you may consider lifting – manual handling technique is extremely important!;
- Take care when navigating the office – you don’t want to end up bumping in to colleagues as you are rushing around!
The above list is just a few of the practical measures to adopt to keep your office safe. Of course the list could be technically endless but general tidiness will go a long way in preventing personal injuries in the office. Perhaps the most likely injury would be caused as a result of someone tripping over objects left on the floor. Most offices are likely to be equipped with computer stations which bring with it a vast amount of wires. Wires should of course be kept clear of walkways to prevent a tripping hazard.
There are other office injuries that could occur such as eye strain, repetitive strain injury etc. If an employer has failed in a duty owed to an employee to comply with health and safety and to ensure that the workplace is as safe as possible, and it can be proved that injuries have occurred as a result of this failure, then compensation may well be awarded for an office based work injury claim.
So, while an office may not be as dangerous as a coal mine, a power plant or a train depot for example, injuries can and do still occur. If you have been injured as a result of an office accident then do not hesitate to give The Injury Lawyers a call.
We can offer free legal advice and we will assess whether you have good prospects of recovering compensation. Please call us today on 0800 634 75 75 to discuss your claim.