100% compensation for workplace accidents
I saw a recent story in the Derby Telegraph about a worker who narrowly escaped what could have been a fatal injury when a crane toppled over whilst trying to lift a heavy object (source). According to the news story, the accident, which happened in my resident city of Derby this week, confirms that the worker managed to escape the crane unharmed.
But it could have been so much worse – so what happens if someone is injured in an accident involving cranes and plant equipment? Can you make a claim for personal injury compensation?
Workplace Regulations are Numerous
There are a lot of workplace health and safety rules and regulations that employers must abide by to keep employees safe in the workplace. Construction sites, where cranes and plant equipment is commonly used, are rife with potential dangers that can lead to serious and even fatal injuries to workers. Health and safety needs to be a real priority to keep workers free from harm.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 have a lot of rules about making sure that a workplace is generally safe. Ways in which people work should be safe, and risk assessments should be in place to ensure that employees cannot be harmed during their working practises.
Cranes and plant equipment themselves fall within the realm of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992 – which dictates that work equipment provided should be suitable and in a working order that allows the equipment to be safe. Now, whilst the reasons as to how this has happened aren’t necessarily clear in the news report, it sounds like the crane being operated wasn’t suitable for the job.
The weight of the object being lifted of course needs to be taken in to account when it comes to assessing the best equipment to use. In this scenario, if the crane was unsuitable given the weight of the object, the employee could have a claim if they were injured as a result of what’s happened.
How do I know if I have a claim?
Best thing to do is contact an injury lawyer to advise you. As I said, there are a lot of rules and regulations and if we can prove that your employer has breached one and this breach is material to the accident and injuries, you may have a claim.
All incidents like this should be investigated by employers anyway, and when we ask they investigate them for a claim, it’s their duty to prove, with evidence, if they believe they are not at fault. Clearly if an incident like this has happened, there may have been a breach of one or more of the many rules and regulations in place.
What should I do?
Call us on 0800 634 75 75 for advice about making a claim on a No Win, No Fee basis – and we can normally offer 100% compensation agreements for workplace accident claims.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
