I read today on the Health Safety Executive website that a man has been injured having been involved an accident at work back in 2009. The HSE reports that Mr O’Brien has lost all movement in three of his fingers for life as a result of an incident at a construction site he was working at. Mr O’Brien was using a drill at his work when his hand became caught in it as a result of it not being properly guarded. As a result of the accident, Mr O’Brien needed to have a number of skin grafts and cannot resume work.
Jex Engineering Company Ltd, the company who employed Mr O’Brien, was taken to the court by the HSE for failing to ensure the drill was properly guarded. That is, Jex Engineering had not recognised that the drill was not guarded when providing it to Mr O’Brien. In fact, Mr O’Brien’s employers had instead stated that the drill had a guard when completing a risk assessment on it. Later, Mr O’Brien’s’ employers did indeed plead guilty to the charges, in particular, to breaching Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 which require employers to prevent their employees from using dangerous machinery.
If, like Mr O’Brien, you have sustained an injury whilst at work, it is important that you firstly report the accident in the accident book which your employer has to keep by law. This is important because it provides evidence as to your accident, and is the basis from which a claim for compensation can be made on your behalf. The next stage in obtaining compensation is to get the advice of a quality personal injury lawyer who can provide you with free legal advice and no cost representation. Good personal injury lawyers have years and years of experience in dealing with these types of claim and know exactly how to conduct your claim and make sure you get the maximum compensation you deserve.
As Mr O’Brien himself said, ‘you just expect employers to know what they’re doing when it comes to health and safety’. He is of course correct. Employers are made fully aware of their obligations under relevant laws, and have a duty to abide by these regulations. They are after all there to protect you, the employee, from sustaining an injury through no fault of your own. Your employer owes you this duty of care. Sadly though, as the HSE notes, over 4,000 workers sustain injuries at work, a number that is far, far too great.
