Whether you’re simply using a piece of office equipment like a photocopier as part of your everyday role, or whether you are working on a factory machine or using plant equipment, the last thing you expect is to end up with an electric shock from the equipment that should be safe to use.
There are specific regulations for workplaces when it comes to managing the health and safety of work equipment, so if you do receive an electric shock, you may be able to make a claim for personal injury compensation.
First – How did it happen?
We need to know how this has been allowed to happen. If the equipment is portable, it should be PAT tested. For machinery, they still should be safe to use. Where you using it correctly? Where you trying to access parts you shouldn’t be? Was the equipment meant to be isolated, but wasn’t? These are all questions we need to ask.
If it’s down to a defect with the equipment, we can allege that your employer is in breach of Regulation 6 of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. This states that equipment should be in an efficient state of repair and in good working order. If the equipment has been poorly maintained or a problem was known to your employer that you were not warned of or that was ignored by your employer, you could have a strong case.
Regulation 19 covers isolation from sources of energy, and this states that work equipment is provided with suitable means to isolate it from all its sources of energy where necessary. I suppose the obvious one here is when you are instructed to maintain equipment or machinery – you’d expect to be able to do this safely. If not, you may have a claim for compensation.
Second – Medical Attention and Reporting it!
If you haven’t reported the accident, you should do as soon as possible. You should also see your GP or nip to a walk in centre and get checked over. Sometimes there may not be clear and visible symptoms of a problem straight away. With electric shock injuries, you are better off to be on the safe side and get some advice and help as soon as possible.
Third – Make a Claim
We offer No Win, No Fee guarantees for claiming and we don’t sting you with upfront fees or hidden charges so there really is nothing to lose in making a claim. In most cases, we submit a Claim Notification Form directly to your employer or their insurers and we ask that they investigate the case and accept or deny liability within 30 working days.
In many minor cases, they may just accept liability as it is much easier to get a quick settlement sorted than trying to defend the claim when there are prospects to fight them for it. The law works to encourage out of court settlements so hopefully they will accept liability and make a payment to you for any losses and injuries caused.
