A lot of people use specialist equipment at work to help them do their jobs as efficiently as they can. For the topic of this article I’m going to focus on those of us that use equipment like cranes, or hand tools as opposed to us office folk who rely upon the trust stapler and pen.
What happens when you are at work and you are injured by faulty equipment? Can you make a claim for compensation?
The responsibility of all work equipment lies with your employer. So if something goes wrong with it, it is your employer’s responsibility. In fact, there are regulations that say that an employer can be strictly liable for faulty work equipment. What this means is that if you are injured because work equipment becomes faulty, even if there was absolutely nothing your employer could have done to prevent it, they may still be liable.
So for the most part, when it comes to your eligibility to claim compensation for a work equipment claim, the prospects are generally quite good. All employers have a legal due to have employer’s liability insurance that covers them for claims against them. The process is normally quite straightforward.
Defective work equipment could range from:
- A door on the lorry you use falls down and collides with you due to the mechanism failing.
- Part of a lathe snaps, causing the job or part of the lathe to break and fire off and collide with you.
- An emergency stop button failing to work when your hand or a piece of clothing or something gets caught in the machine.
- A crane suddenly breaking and releasing a load, causing the controls to pull back hard on you and cause an impact injury on you or a strain injury to the back or neck area.
- A wheel falls off of a forklift truck and causes you to lose control and crash.
Even if your employer has regularly inspected and maintained the equipment, if it still breaks and causes you injury you may still be able to make a claim due to the strict liability rule.
You also need to be fully trained in how to use all work equipment that you are instructed to use. If you are injured due to a lack of training, your employer is potentially liable for a claim.
Give us a call on 0800 634 75 75 today for expert advice about making a claim for compensation.
