Employers Liability Insurance covers vicarious liability claims.
Claims that fall within the realm of vicarious liability usually have pretty high success rates. Here are a few examples of cases where your employer can be vicariously liable (aside from the forklift one above):
Your colleague:
- Hits you with a trolley or roll cage as they weren’t looking where they were going.
- Drops something whilst up on some scaffolding which hits you on the head.
- Drops or poorly manoeuvres a heavy item that you are both handling; perhaps causing you to suddenly take the weight of it or being jerked down as the object falls to the ground under the weight.
- Leaves something in a walkway resulting in you tripping over it.
- Fails to properly cover a hole in the ground they have made or opened causing you to fall in to it.
- Trips up and ends up covering you in boiling water from a tub they were carrying.
- Throws something across a stockroom whilst aiming for a box where the item should belong, but hits you in the crossfire.
The gist of a work accident vicarious liability claim comes down to whether there is negligence arising from a colleague’s actions. Generally speaking we’re talking accidents here; if your colleague takes a disliking to you and assaults you, this isn’t something that is normally covered under vicarious liability. It’s a little out of your employers control when it comes to someone deciding they are going to physically hurt you on purpose.
As I touched on earlier, claims where we can prove vicarious liability are normally quite successful. The policy of insurance your employer must legally hold covers claims for vicarious liability; so you’re covered, there is insurance there, and you have the right to claim from it.
Don’t miss out! Give us a call ASAP on our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 to find out if you have a claim today!