When your job includes driving, you can be driving anything from a car, a van, a lorry, or some form or machinery or equipment – like a forklift truck for example. If the vehicle is owned by your employer then your employer should take out insurance on the vehicle which will also cover you as the driver in the event of an accident. It’s also their responsibility to maintain the vehicle as well.
As the vehicle will be used for work and business, the insurance policy is normally different to that of everyday motorists. Vehicles owned and used by companies are normally insured under what is called a ‘fleet policy’ which will usually cover all the vehicles owned and used by the company.
Now, normally Road Traffic Accidents usually involve the collision of vehicles and therefore a claim for personal injury will be made against the at fault party’s insurer. However, not all Road Traffic Accidents do involve other vehicles and an accident can often be caused by the employer’s failure to maintain a vehicle.
Here at The Injury Lawyers, we deal with a significant number of claims from employees that have been injured in a works vehicle due to things such as wheels falling off, brakes not working properly and trailers of lorry’s not being attached properly.
As you can imagine these sorts of faults on a vehicle can cause serious accidents if you end up losing control of the vehicle you are driving – and these sorts of things will often involve other innocent motorists.
It is the duty of an employer to ensure that you are in a safe working environment and this includes vehicles which you have to use as part of your job. Therefore, if you have been injured as a result of your employer failing to maintain a vehicle which you have been instructed to use, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
In fact, in some circumstances, there are strict liabilities imposed on your employer to compensate you should certain things go wrong with a vehicle. If the malfunction is beyond their control and couldn’t have been prevented through inspection or maintenance, they still may be liable under the workplace regulations that say they must legally accept fault.
If you are involved in an accident in your employer’s vehicle then a report must be made to your employer as soon as possible so that they can contact their insurer and begin the process of making the claim for damages to the vehicle – should they chose to claim from their insurer as oppose to repairing any problems themselves.
Your claim for compensation will also be directed against your employer’s insurer. Some client’s can be hesitant about making a claim against their employer – but your employer has insurance to deal with these matters, which is why it is in place. Your employer should expect you to make a claim for compensation for any injuries caused due to their negligence.
Starting a claim with The Injury Lawyers is pretty easy. We will take all the information in respect of the accident and, with your authority, we will submit the details of your claim, which include the accident circumstances and the reasons we believe they are at fault for the accident and the injuries caused to you, to your employer. It is then passed to the insurer who must then respond and either admit or dispute liability for the accident.
If, at the end of this period, it is shown that the employer neglected their duty to maintain the vehicle and this led to your accident and injuries, then liability should be admitted by the insurer. Once liability is admitted, we will begin to gather evidence in respect of your injuries and any monetary losses which have been caused by the accident.
This will be submitted to the insurer and they should then make an offer to settle your claim for compensation based on the evidence we have provided to them.
So, if you have been injured in an accident which has been caused by a poorly maintained or faulty vehicle which your employer has instructed you to use as part of your job, please call our Claims Line for free, no obligatory advice.
The Claims Line number is: 0800 634 75 75
