There are various professions that put employees at risk of being seriously injured but even if you work in an office or shop environment, you could suffer a workplace injury too. If you are involved in an accident at work it could entitle you to seek compensation from an employer if you can prove they may be partly responsible for the injuries you sustained.
It is always worth contacting a solicitor even if you think you were at fault for an accident at work injury because you may be able to claim compensation if contributory negligence on the part of an employer can be proved.
- Can I Claim Compensation if Another Employee Causes My Workplace Injuries?
- How is Liability Determined for an Accident at Work?
- When Would I Be Entitled to Claim Compensation if I Caused a Workplace Accident?
- When It is Hard to Determine Liability for an Accident at Work?
- What Evidence Do I Need to Provide to Prove My Work-related Accident Claim?
- Who Pays the Accident at Work Injury Compensation I Receive?
- The Time Limit to Filing an Accident at Work Claim?
- Would a Solicitor Offer No Win No Fee Terms if I File an Accident at Work Claim?
- Informative Links
Can I Claim Compensation if Another Employee Causes My Workplace Injuries?
You may have been injured at work due to the error of a fellow employee. An example being hit by a forklift truck which a colleague was operating at the time of the incident. It could be that another worker was not adequately trained to carry out a job and as a consequence you were injured. If this is the case, it could entitle you to seek compensation from your employer because they are responsible for the actions of all employees in the workplace.
If an employer asked you to operate a forklift and you had not received the right certified training and as such, you did not have the required qualifications and as a result you caused a workplace accident in which you were injured, your employer could be held liable. The necessary qualifications you would need to operate a forklift truck are as follows:
- RTITB
- ITSAAR
- ALLMI
- NPORS
- AITT
It is also worth noting that the same applies if you were insufficiently trained to operate specialist equipment, machinery or tools in the workplace. All employers in the UK are duty bound to ensure that all employees are adequately trained and have the necessary qualifications to operate machinery and other equipment. An employer must also ensure that a workplace is safe by abiding by Health and Safety Regulations and other laws that are there to protect you and your fellow employers from harm or injury at work.
How is Liability Determined for an Accident at Work?
The Health & Safety at Work Act is there to protect you as an employee in the workplace. Employers must abide by the legislation to reduce the risk of accidents occurring in a work environment. As an employee, you are also required to act responsibly when you are at work to ensure that you do not put any fellow employees in harm’s way.
Your employer must ensure the following:
- That you and your fellow employees are adequately trained to carry out any work that you are tasked to do at work
- That all employees are provided with industry standard PPE – personal protective equipment, that it is readily available when needed, kept in good condition and stored correctly when not in use
- That all employees are made aware of good working procedures and practices
- That all employees are provided with ongoing training at regular intervals
If you caused a workplace accident in which you suffered an injury and you can show that you had not been given sufficient training to use specific equipment or an employer failed to provide you with the correct PPE, it could entitle you to seek compensation by filing an accident at work claim. The reason being that although you caused the incident, your employer may be deemed negligent because they failed in their duty to ensure that you were provided with adequate training and personal protective equipment.
The same would apply if you were injured in an accident at work that you caused because equipment, machinery or tools that you were using at the time were faulty. If an employer fails to maintain equipment and as a consequence you are injured, they would be held responsible.
If you were involved in a workplace accident and you were injured due to any of the reasons mentioned above, you should contact a solicitor at accidentclaims.co.uk who would assess your case in an initial, no obligation consultation for which there is typically no charge. Once the solicitor establishes that your employer may be responsible for the workplace injuries you suffered, they would offer you No Win No Fee terms when representing you in an accident at work claim.
When Would I Be Entitled to Claim Compensation if I Caused a Workplace Accident?
Should an employer insist that you carry out any work that is not your usual activity in the workplace for which you are not adequately trained and you, suffer a workplace injury, you could be entitled to seek compensation from them by filing a work-related personal injury claim. As previously mentioned, your employer is legally obliged to ensure that you have been sufficiently trained to carry out a job safely and must ensure that the following is in place:
- That you have sufficient experience to do a job
- That you are adequately trained and have enough experience to use specialist machinery and/or equipment/tools
- That you have the required qualification to operate equipment/machinery/tools
- That you are aware and abide by best practices and procedures
- That you and all other employees abide by Health & Safety Executive regulations
- That adequate PPE is readily available when needed
- That all machinery/equipment/tools are correctly maintained in good working order
If you cause a workplace accident in which you suffered an injury and you can show that your employer failed to keep you safe by setting in place reasonable measures to reduce the risk of an accident at work from happening, you should contact a solicitor at accidentclaims.co.uk who would offer essential advice on whether your employer could be responsible for the injury you suffered at work.
When It is Hard to Determine Liability for an Accident at Work?
There are certain circumstances that could make it more challenging to establish liability for the workplace injuries you may have sustained. However, proving liability for work-related diseases and illnesses are the most difficult to prove which includes when the following are involved in an accident at work claim:
- Mesothelioma
- Lung cancer
Both of the above work-related diseases are linked to contact with asbestos and the problem proving responsibility is that it is often very challenging to hold any one person liable. The reason being that you could have come into contact with asbestos in the place you work or because asbestos was being used by a company/business that was situated close to where you work. With this type of work-related claim, the symptoms of a disease often do not manifest themselves for several years.
Liability can be harder to establish because of “contributory negligence”. However, should your accident at work claim go before a judge, they would assess whether you “acted reasonably” when carrying out a job. Other factors a judge would take into account would include the following:
- Your experience
- Your age
It is worth noting that a judge would apply different standards if you were more experienced and the fact that you are older than they would for a younger, less experienced employee. However, if an employer can show that that you demonstrated a “reckless disregard” for your own safety when carrying out a job, a judge may well rule that you contributed to the injuries you suffered and as such the amount of accident at work compensation you may receive would be reduced according to Section 1 of the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945.
What Evidence Do I Need to Provide to Prove My Work-related Accident Claim?
For an accident at work claim against an employer to be considered, you would need to provide sufficient evidence showing that they too could be held partly or fully responsible for the workplace injuries you sustained. The sort of evidence an accident at work solicitor would request that you provide would include the following:
- The official record of the workplace incident that left you injured as detailed in the work’s Accident Book
- The medical report of the workplace injuries you sustained
- Contact details of all the people who witnessed the accident
- Witness statements
- A written statement that details the circumstances that led up to the workplace accident happening
- CCTV footage or photos of where the workplace accident occurred
- Photos of your injuries
- Any records of previous workplace incidents as reported to the Health & Safety Executive
Even if you do not want to claim compensation to begin with, you may change your mind later on more especially if the injuries you sustained prevented you from working for any length of time. This could put you and your loved ones under a lot of financial hardship and as such, seeking compensation from an employer could help you overcome any financial difficulties you have to cope with having suffered a workplace injury.
Who Pays the Accident at Work Injury Compensation I Receive?
It is your employer’s liability insurance provider who would pay the accident at work compensation you are awarded. Liability insurance is compulsory for all employers in the UK and failure to have a policy in place that is issued by an approved provider would result in your employer being given heavy fines by an enforcing authority. Your accident at work claim would be handled by your employer’s insurer from start to finish whether your case is disputed or liability is accepted.
It is also worth noting that most personal injury claims are settled before they go to court with insurance companies preferring to offer out of court settlements rather than run the risk of losing a case through the courts which would incur heavy costs. Should an insurance lose their case against you, they would have to pay all the court costs which would include both yours and theirs.
The Time Limit to Filing an Accident at Work Claim
If you file an accident at work claim against your employer, you would have 3 years to do so. However, if you believe that you could be partly responsible for the injuries you suffered, you should contact a solicitor at accidentclaims.co.uk because proving liability could prove more challenging and as such your case could take longer to investigate.
With this said, when the 3 year time limit begins may differ depending on the circumstances of your accident at work claim, which is explained below:
- The 3 year deadline would start from the date you suffered workplace injuries
- The 3 year deadline starts from your 18th birthday if the accident occurred before this
- The 3 year deadline starts from the date a medical professional diagnoses you as having developed a health issue they link to the workplace injury you sustained
It is always more advisable to seek legal advice as soon as you can because accident at work claims where proving liability is more challenging can make the process a lot more complex. It takes time to establish that an employer could be held responsible for any injuries you sustained when you caused the accident. The reason being that you would need to prove that your employer failed to keep you safe in some way, whether this was because they did not provide you with adequate training, they asked you to do a job that you did not normally do, you were asked to operate machinery that you had no experience in using, or they failed to provide you with adequate personal protective equipment.
Would a Solicitor Offer No Win No Fee Terms if I File an Accident at Work Claim?
A solicitor would need to assess your case before agreeing to represent you on an No Win No Fee basis which they would do by offering you an initial, no obligation consultation. This first consultation is typically free of charge and it allows a solicitor the chance to determine whether an employer could be held partly or fully responsible for the injuries you suffered in a workplace accident that you may have caused. Once the solicitor is satisfied that you have a strong case against your employer, they would offer you No Win No Fee terms.
You would sign a Conditional Fee Agreement which is a legally binding contract that sets out the following:
- The Terms and Conditions of the agreement and what you can expect the solicitor to do when working on your accident at work claim
- The percentage that you would only have to pay on a successful claim which is known as a “success fee”. This is deducted from the accident at work compensation you receive. Should your case not be successful, the “success fee” would be waived which in short means that you would not have to pay for the legal advice and representation the solicitor provided
Other advantages of having legal representation is that the solicitor would ensure that you are awarded the level of compensation you deserve and should you require ongoing treatment or therapy, the cost of this is included in the accident at work compensation you are awarded.
Informative Links
If you would like more information about Health and Safety regulations in the workplace, please follow the link provided below:
Health and Safety Executive regulations in the workplace
If you were injured in an accident at work that you may have caused and would like more information on your worker’s rights please click on the link below:
Worker’s rights after an accident at work
If your employer threatens to fire you and you need more information relating to employment law in the UK, please follow the link provided below: