Although we are fortunate enough to have rather stringent health and safety laws here in the UK that are great at keeping accidents down to a minimum, they still happen. Unfortunately, working in a place like a factory can generally put you at a higher risk of injury. To reflect this, standards need to be high.
But what happens when you are failed by your employer and you are injured as a factory worker? What are you rights when it comes to making a claim after a factory accident?
Breach of Duty
To win a claim, we need to prove that your employer has breached the important duty they have to keep you safe in the workplace. There are loads of health and safety rules and regulations in place that are designed to make sure employees are protected. So if you are injured because of a breach of the regulations, you employer has likely beached that duty they have for you.
What are examples?
Some common examples can be:
Injuries caused by machinery
Machinery is classed as equipment, and this falls within the scope of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations which states that machinery should:
- Be in a good state of repair and in an efficient working order
- Be suitable and safe to use
- Have guards and rails to prevent exposure to dangerous parts
- Have emergency stop buttons and power isolations in case of emergency and for when machinery needs to be worked on
Slips and Trips
Here we have The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations which put a general duty on employers to make sure there are no slip or trip hazards in the workplace. Floors should be free of any article that could cause a person to slip, trip, or fall, and the design of the flooring must be suitable too.
Dirt and debris can often end up on factory floors, so there should be systems and procedures in place by employers to safeguard people from accidents.
No protective equipment
You may need to access sharp or hot parts of machinery or in general, which means you should be provided with equipment to protect your hands and body. You could be exposed to gasses or other harmful substances as well, and if the working environment is noisy, you may need ear defenders. Goggles may also be necessary too.
All of these fall within the realms of The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations. Your employer is responsible to provide and pay for equipment, and they must risk assess tasks and equipment to ensure it is safe and suitable. If it isn’t provided or it isn’t suitable, you may have a claim.
What are your rights?
All employers should have insurance for people to claim from. If you are injured at work because your employer is responsible for causing an accident or injury, then you may have a winning claim for personal injury compensation.
It is your legal right to make a claim, and you are protected by law when making a claim. You do not need to worry about any repercussions at all as you cannot be sacked or treated any different for making a claim.
As a firm of specialist work accident lawyers, call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 for help and advice today.
