Work yards can be dangerous places. By this I’m talking about haulage yards and factory or distribution yards where goods are normally loaded on to vehicles for transport.
In this article we will look at some rules and regulations for employers and employees when it comes to conduct in such a yard to ensure no one is injured. From people being hit by wagons or tugs to accidents when loading goods on to vehicles, there are many dangers that need to be addressed.
Given the need to protect employees in the workplace, we have a lot of legislation that is there to protect people from being injured. Ignore the nonsense in the press about there being too much health and safety – the stuff we have in place is very important to stop people being hurt or killed. Life is precious – so we should do all we can to ensure no one loses their life in a situation that could easily have been avoided.
In works yards we expect there to be procedures and training in place to avoid vehicle accidents from either collisions with other vehicles or pedestrians. Simple steps can be taken – for example:
- Provision of high visibility clothing in accordance with The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations
- Specific traffic routes to separate, where possible, vehicles and pedestrians – Regulation 17 of The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations states “Every workplace shall be organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles can circulate in a safe manner”
- Procedures for helping vehicles manoeuvre safely in yards – perhaps by having an employee assist in the coordination of moving the vehicle on the ground to avoid accidents
In general, the condition of yards need to be safe to navigate as well. Again, The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations state that floors should be safe by having no holes, slopes, or articles that can cause a person to slip, trip, or fall.
When it comes to loading goods, The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 can apply which means equipment should be provided and used where it can, and where manual handling cannot be avoided, proper training and adequate staff numbers need to be in place to safely move goods.
When it comes to working on vehicles and using vehicles, they’re classed as work equipment which means The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations apply. These demand that an employer must ensure that equipment is in an efficient state and in good repair. You should never be harmed by equipment being defective or dangerous. If you are, your employer may be in breach of these vital rules.
So as you can see, there are a lot of rules and regulations in place – and the above is only naming a few. To assess whether you can win a claim for personal injury compensation or not is a lot down to proving that your employer is in breach of health and safety legislation and proving that this breach has caused your accident. Employers have a legal duty to be insured for such eventualities so all we need to do is claim from the insurers for any pain, suffering, and loss caused.
For help and advice, call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 today.
