But what happens if you are at work and you are injured by one of your colleagues? What happens if you are lifting a heavy item and your colleague drops it because they weren’t paying enough attention? Or what happens if your colleague accidentally drives in to you with a forklift truck? Or what about if they switch a machine on whilst you are cleaning it?
Who is to blame?
Well the colleague is generally at fault if you look at it from a literal perspective if they were the negligent one, but in the eyes of the law you may be able to claim against your employer for compensation. It’s called vicarious liability, and it generally means, in a workplace scenario, that the negligence of a colleague falls on to your employer.
So you don’t have to worry about suing your friend at work – your employers insurance may cover you for a claim, and cover legal fees as well. So if you have been injured at work because of a colleague’s negligence, remember these three golden rules:
- You may be able to claim against tour employer for the compensation you are owed, even if it was an employee at fault.
- Your employer has a duty to have a policy of employer’s liability insurance – it’s there to claim from, and you are protected by law when claiming. So you have nothing to worry about.
- We are specialist work accident compensation lawyers – call our team now on 0820 634 75 75 and we should be able to tell you over the phone in minutes if we can help you out with a claim or not.