If you have an accident at work are you responsible or are your employer’s automatically responsible for failing to take “better care of you”?
This is difficult to answer with a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’… As every case has to be judged on its own merits and there are many aspects which can influence how successful your claim is likely to be.
The first point is to establish whether or not your employer owed you a duty of care in the circumstances. Did your accident happen in your workplace; this may be in an office or out on a site you are contracted to work on? Your van or truck may be your workplace for example? If this is the case and if you had an accident whilst in your workplace then it’s more than likely that your employer owed you a duty of care.
Has your employer breached their duty of care?
We need to get answer to a few questions…
| What are the circumstances of the accident? |
| Has your employer negligently done or not done something which has resulted in your injury? |
| Have protective measures failed to have been put in to place where work equipment is involved i.e. protective guards, protective personal equipment etc? |
| Have you tripped over equipment which has been negligently left in your pathway? |
If the above appears applicable to you then it is likely that you may have a claim for a workplace accident, however, is there a possibility you may be held partly responsible for your own injuries?
The simplest and most common answer to give you is… Yes!
Many factors need to be taken in to consideration when considering your employer’s liability to you and the following will be a few:
| Had you been provided with Personal Protective Equipment but you failed to wear them when the accident happened? |
| Had you put yourself in a position where it was reasonably foreseeable an accident may occur? |
| Were you aware of the hazard? If so, had you reported the hazard to anyone? What is your firms policy for clearing hazards out of “harm’s way” i.e. are you all responsible for ensuring the workplace is kept clear of hazards or is this solely the responsibility of your Employer? |
It is most likely that your employer will bear some liability for your accident but you also need to consider if there is any possibility you bear any liability also.
If you have been involved in an accident at work and you have sustained injuries as a result you should seek independent legal advice from The Injury Lawyers – call us today on 0800 634 7575 and speak to one of our expert claims team.
