We recently did a blog about the duties owed by employers when it comes to the effectiveness and suitability of work equipment like roll cages and trolleys, and it’s something we have covered in the past as well. But as a firm of specialist injury lawyers who only represent victims for compensation claims, we’re used to winning all sorts of accidents that occur from a wide range of scenarios.

So here is an article about being injured due to a roll cage or trolley not because it is defective or unsuitable, but because of uneven ground.
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On occasions, the only way an employer could reasonably have known about a health and safety hazard is if someone reports it to them. But what happens if a problem is reported and nothing is done about it? Let’s say a leak is reported and not resolved? Or a loose step is reported and nothing is done about it? If someone has an accident involving a reported hazard, can a claim be made?

Reasonable Notice

The fact that the matter had been reported should act as reasonable notice of a problem. As such, the employer is duty bound to do all in their power to either rectify or make safe the issue as soon as possible. So in failing to act, they can be negligent if someone has an accident.
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We take on a fair volume of claims for personal injury compensation when people are injured by roll cages. So let’s take a look at the law and how it can apply to see if you can make a claim from your employers insurance if you are injured as a result of a defective or dangerous roll cages.

The Law

A roll cage will be classed as work equipment and is therefore subject to The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The two important key elements of this legislation are to do with suitability and maintenance. The key bits read as follows:
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Digging holes and trenches is of course required in many jobs. It’s common in constructions sites for foundations to be laid, walls and fences to be erected, and pipes or cables to be laid in the ground.

Digging itself can involve some hefty manual work; particularly if the ground is fairly solid. It comes as no surprise then that people are liable to injure their back, arms, and / or shoulder areas when they are requested to dig.

So if you are instructed by your employer to dig and you end up injured, is there a duty and can you make a claim for compensation?
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You don’t have to be a driver to be covered by insurance for a claim for personal injury compensation. If you are injured as an innocent passenger in a collision, no matter which vehicle is at fault, you pretty much have a guaranteed claim for compensation.

A collision has occurred, so there is likely someone to blame. Unless you did something daft like pulled on the handbrake or distracted the driver and that caused an accident, you are an innocent party in a collision with an at-fault party. So whether it’s the driver of your vehicle or another vehicle involved, we can definitely make a claim for you.
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Factories are generally hazardous places. With heavy plant, equipment, and machinery in constant operation, health and safety is of paramount importance in factories and those in charge have a number of duties to ensure that employees are not injured in the line of duty.

Whilst most accidents probably involve equipment, slipping on wet floors are common in factories as they are in any other workplaces. Leaks from machinery, whether its oil or water, is an obvious one. People could walk grease and oil around the floor if it sticks to their boots as well. Having boots to try and prevent as much as possible a slipping accident is a point in itself.
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Walls – as a principle, they’re there to protect us from danger. But if they are not safe, they can quickly become a danger. Common examples of accident claims involving walls could be as follows:

• A piece of a wall falls off and hits you / a wall collapses on you.
• A low wall you are sitting on collapses or breaks beneath you.
• A wall is dangerously low causing a trip and / or fall over it.
• A wall you are leaning on collapses or breaks, causing an accident.

So if any of the above happens to you, can you make a claim for personal injury compensation?
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First things first – I’m discussing negligence here, not maliciousness. So if you are at work, perhaps in a kitchen, and a colleague spills something hot on you or walks in to you whilst carrying hot soup for example, can you make a claim for personal injury compensation?

Vicarious Liability

Vicarious liability means that the negligence of a colleague falls on to the employer. So if a colleague fails to adhere to procedures and policies in the workplace and causes a burn injury to you, you can claim from your employers insurance.
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Supermarkets are busy places – it’s easy to see this as store assistants are constantly restocking shelves with stock cages and pallets. As Christmas draws closer and closer, the stores are only going to get busier and busier. That means more people, and potentially more pallets!

So, what happens if you are shopping along and you trip and fall due to a pallet on the ground? Can you make a claim for personal injury compensation against the supermarket?
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As the weather gets colder and colder, more and more potholes are likely to appear over the coming months. Some can spring up in such a short time and can grow to a fairly large size in a short period of time as well.

You may have heard of, or understand, the concept that a pothole has to be of a certain size in order to make a claim for personal injury compensation. This is true – Section 41 of the Highways Act says that those responsible for an area only need to take action if a defect is deemed to be of a reasonable danger. What’s classed as reasonable is a grey area, and most lawyers use the “one inch rule” to say that the defect has to be of at least one inch in depth / height to have a good chance of succeeding.
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