If you have been injured at work because of a crate, you may be entitled to compensation. Whether you have been hit by a falling crate, or injured trying to move a crate, you are entitled to claim for the health and safety failings of your employer.
Tasks that involve working with crates will typically have risk assessments involved for the various risks; especially where the crates are heavy and / or large. So read on for a little advice about your rights.
When you can claim
Common scenarios where you might have a valid claim for work accident compensation caused by a crate can involve:
- Being hit by a crate that falls from a stack or a wagon
- Being hit by a crate that falls from a crane or forklift during transport
- Being hit by an unsecured crate from height
- Manual handling injuries caused by moving heavy crates
Proper risk assessments should be able to identify safe ways of moving and securing crates. If you are hit by a crate then the basic argument is that it couldn’t have been secure in the first place. Crates loaded on wagons or stored in the workplace must not be allowed to fall and injure someone.
Its worth remembering that many crates can weigh a lot and workers could easily be seriously harmed or killed by a falling crate. Employers can’t take any chances when it comes to the management of health and safety when creates are used in the workplace.
When it comes to manually handling crates then The Manual Handling Operations Regulations impose very specific duties on employers to manage employee safety. All manual handling must be risk assessed and avoided where necessary through the use of equipment like forklift trucks or trolleys, as examples.
If you are expected to manually lift a crate then you may be able to claim where:
- The crate is too heavy or large and this causes an injury
- You are injured moving a crate over dangerous terrain like stairs or rough ground
- Another employee moving a crate with you drops the crate or fails to handle the crate properly, causing an injury to you
- You have had no or little training in safe moving techniques and this causes an injury
Where you stand legally
Employers have a duty to have special insurance to cover workers injured in the workplace through no fault of their own. When we fight for your claim we are fighting for the insurance to cover you.
Making a workplace compensation claim can be really easy so give us a call for advice 0800 634 7575 today.
