One of the most common ways people are injured by workplace machinery and equipment is because of a lack of adequate guards. A lot of machinery and equipment have moving parts which is why they need to be guarded to protect employees from being injured when using them.
So what happens if you are injured at work because someone removed a guard from a piece of machinery or equipment?
The law is very clear on this – one of the opening lines to The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation 11 which deals with dangerous parts of machinery says that the employer must:
“…prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar.”
The regulations go on to clarify this more but the general principle can be easily seen above.
So it’s one thing providing guards and rails to comply with the regulations, but if they are then removed, your employer is in clear breach of the regulations.
An important question to ask is this: why on earth have they been removed? If it was part of scheduled maintenance then only those who should then be able to access the machinery to conduct the maintenance should be allowed near the machine / equipment. But if they are removed and employees are still expected to carry out their working duties then they are at risk of serious injury.
It is worth knowing that if it was a colleague that removed guards or rails and shouldn’t have done so then you can still make a claim. Your employer cannot simply avoid liability because an employee decided to ignore the law. Your employer can still be vicariously liable and the regulations have been breached.
Your rights to an injury at work claim
If guards or rails have been removed from equipment or machinery and you have been injured because of this then you have the right to make an injury at work claim for compensation. Your employer is duty bound by law to have a policy of Employers Liability Insurance to cover them for accidents and injuries in the workplace.
It’s important to know that you are fully protected by the law when making a claim and it is your basic human right to make a claim.
For specialist help and advice call us 0800 634 7575 today.
