I Did Not Receive Training and as a Result Had an Accident at Work Can I Claim?

Accident At Work Claims AdviceIf you suffer an injury at work because you were not adequately trained to do a job an employer tasked you to do, you could be entitled to seek compensation by filing a work-related personal injury claim against them. The reason is that all employers in the United Kingdom are legally obliged to ensure that you have been sufficiently trained to carry out work they ask you to do.

To find out if you have a strong case against an employer because you did not receive training and as a result you had an accident at work, please read on.

What UK Laws Protect Employees at Work?

There are various laws and legislation in the United Kingdom that protect you and your fellow employees in the workplace. An employer is legally bound to abide by the following laws to reduce the risk of a workplace accident from happening:

  • The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
  • Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

On top of the above laws, there are other Acts of Parliament which are there to cover employees who work with hazardous chemicals/materials and who operate specialist machinery/equipment. Should your employer choose to ignore the law and as a consequence you are involved in an accident that leaves you injured, your employer would be in breach of their duty to keep you safe from harm and injury at work. This also applies if you have not been trained or inadequately trained to carry out any tasks that an employer asks you to do.

If you can show that your employer failed to train you or they did not provide sufficient training for you to do a job safely, you should contact a personal injury solicitor at www.accidentclaims.co.uk who would establish whether your employer could be held liable for the injury you suffered and they would do so in an initial consultation. It is worth noting this first consultation is free of charge.

What are the Most Reported Injuries at Work Due to Inadequate Training?

If you are inadequately training to carry out work that an employer tasks you to do, whether you work in an office, on the shop floor, in a warehouse or you are employed to work in any other work environment, and you suffer an injury in an accident as a direct consequence, you may be entitled to compensation. The reason being that employers are legally bound to make sure that you and your fellow employees have been sufficiently trained to carry out a job as safely as possible.

There are many ways in which you could be injured in the workplace because you were not adequately trained, but the most common incidents involve the following:

  • Falling from scaffolding, a ladder or from another height because you were insufficiently trained to use necessary equipment properly
  • Suffering a lifting injury which as a consequence results in back injuries because of inadequate training in manual handling of heavy items
  • Sustaining an electric shock because of insufficient training on how equipment must be used/operated
  • Suffering chemical burns and/or other dangerous/hazardous material injuries due to inadequate training on how dangerous substances must be handled
  • Developing work-related medical conditions and other health issues due to inadequate or a lack of adequate training on how to use safety equipment and personal protective equipment
  • Being insufficiently trained to operate specialist machinery, equipment and tools

One of an employer’s legal responsibilities in the workplace is to carry out regular risk assessments with an end goal being to identify hazards and to then set in place reasonable measures to reduce the risk of harm and injury to employees and other workers whether permanent or temporary.

What Employees are Most at Risk of Being Injured if Not Adequately Trained?

There are certain work environments that put you more at risk of suffering an injury in a workplace accident if you have not been adequately trained although you can sustain an injury due to insufficient training in any work environment. With this said, the workers most at risk would include the following:

  • Electricians
  • Builders
  • Dock workers
  • Warehouse workers
  • Factory workers
  • Kitchen staff, porters and chefs
  • Employees who work in shipping

Employers must do their best to reduce the risk of injury coming to employees due to a lack of training and must ensure the following:

  • That they have adequately assessed your ability and experience to do certain jobs
  • That you and your fellow workers are provided with regular as well as ongoing training
  • That extra training is provided when employees are asked to do jobs that are new to them whether this is operating specialist equipment or machinery
  • That your fellow employees are adequately trained and have sufficient experience to work alongside you
  • That younger and therefore less experienced employees are correctly protected
  • That employees with disabilities are kept safe from harm
  • That pregnant employees are kept safe from harm and injury at work

How Do I Establish an Employer Failed to Provide Adequate Training?

To establish that your employer failed to provide you with adequate training to do a job as safely as possible, you would need to show negligence on their part. It is worth noting that even if you were partly responsible for the workplace injury you suffered, your employer may also have an element of liability and as such you could still file a personal injury claim against them which is known as “contributory negligence”.

Your employer should have set specific working practices and procedures in place which you and your fellow employees whether permanent or temporary must follow. This would include receiving medical attention from a designated first aid officer when you are injured in a workplace accident. Employers are also legally bound to adhere to health and safety regulations and should they fail to do so, they may be deemed responsible for any injuries you suffer as a consequence. As such, if your employer fails in any of the following, you may be able to seek compensation from them for the workplace injuries you sustain:

  • They failed to identify health and safety regulations set in place for specific work environments
  • They failed to ensure that all employees whether permanent or temporary had received sufficient training and had the necessary experience to carry out jobs they were tasked to do
  • They failed to factor in an employee’s suitability to do a job
  • They failed to provide the required level of training to employees which are fully and easily understood
  • They failed to ensure that all employees whether permanent or temporary are sufficiently qualified to do specific job and or to take on specific roles in a workplace
  • They failed to make sure that supervisors have sufficient experience
  • They failed to provide sufficient training which should have factored in changing and different work environments

Establishing employer negligence can prove challenging in certain instances which is why it is best to seek legal advice from a solicitor at www.accidentclaims.co.uk who would assess your claim by investigating whether similar incidents to the one you experienced were reported in the work’s Accident Book or which were reported to the RIDDOR as a reportable incident or near miss. If the lawyer finds there is a pattern of workplace injuries sustained by employees, it may establish a basis for your inadequate training claim against your employer. Other factors that would be factored into establishing your claim would include the following:

Accident At Work Claims Advice

  • An employer’s history regarding health and safety in the workplace
  • Whether specific training was set in place
  • An employer’s history of employee injuries
  • Statements from witnesses of accidents in the workplace

The more proof you can offer a personal injury lawyer, the stronger your claim that you were inadequately trained to do a job would be.

What Procedure Should I Follow If I Am Injured at Work Due to Inadequate Training?

As previously touched upon, responsible employers would have a specific procedure in place that all employees should follow if they are injured in a workplace accident. The first thing you must do is seek medical attention whether this is provided by a designated first aid office at your place of work or from a doctor in accident and emergency. Following this and if your injuries permit, you should do the following even if to begin with, you have no intention of filing a work-related personal injury claim against your employer:

  • Check that the workplace accident has been reported to the employer or to the person in charge
  • Check if the incident has been recorded in the work’s Accident Book – if there is no book, you can opt to send your employer a registered letter keeping a copy for your own records, or a personal email detailing the accident and the extent of the injuries you sustained
  • Get photos of the injuries you suffered
  • Get photos of where the accident occurred and of the machinery, equipment or tools you were using at the time (if applicable)
  • Ask your employer for CCTV footage of the accident which they are obliged to give you in a timely manner
  • Get written witness statements together with their contact details
  • Get a medical report of the injuries you sustained which must include even minor symptoms you may be experiencing as this could turn into something more serious a little later on

All of the above would help a personal injury lawyer when it comes to establishing employer liability for the workplace injuries you suffered. The more evidence you can provide would determine the strength of your inadequate training claim against your employer and would help when it comes to establishing the level of accident at work compensation you may be entitled to receive.

What Are My Worker’s Rights After an Accident at Work?

If you are injured in an accident at work, one of your worker’s rights is to seek compensation from an employer without worrying that you would be treated unfairly or detrimentally if you do. You have the right to file a work-related personal injury claim against an employer providing you can show they were in breach of their duty to ensure you were kept safe in the workplace from being harmed or injured.

Can I Claim Specific Things in an Accident at Work Claim?

You would be able to claim both your damages and your losses when filing an accident at work claim against an employer. Work-related personal injury compensation is awarded in two parts which are “general damages” and “special damages”.

General damages are awarded to compensate you for the “damage” you suffered in form of the workplace injuries you sustained because you were inadequately trained to do a job. This includes any mental anguish you experienced and whether your injuries are such that they are life altering. A court or an insurer would refer to the Judicial College Guidelines when calculating the level of general damages you may be awarded in a successful claim.

Special damages are awarded to compensate you for your “out of pocket” expenses which you directly incurred as a result of having been injured at work. You would be entitled to claim for the following providing you have the necessary receipts to support the expenses and other costs you incurred:

  • Travel expenses you paid out to go to and from the place where you were being treated for your workplace injuries whether you went by car, taxi, bus or train
  • Medical costs that are not covered by the NHS
  • Loss of earnings and any future earnings if you are unable to work again because your injuries prevent you from doing so
  • Care costs should you require assistance around the home during your recovery
  • Care home costs should you have to go into care
  • The cost of ongoing treatment, therapy or rehabilitation
  • Home and vehicle adaptations
  • All other expenses and costs that can be directly linked to the workplace injuries you suffered which are not covered by the NHS

Is There a Deadline to Filing an Accident at Work Claim Against My Employer?

There is a deadline as to how long you would have to file an inadequate training claim against your employer which is set at 3 years from the date you were injured at work. However, the deadline would start at different times because it would depend on the circumstances surrounding when the accident occurred and when a doctor diagnoses a health condition you have developed which can be linked to the workplace injury you suffered. This is explained as follows:

  • Three years from the date you suffered an injury in the workplace
  • Three years from the date a doctor diagnoses you as suffering from a medical condition linked to the workplace injuries you suffered
  • Three years from the date of your 18th birthday if the incident occurred before this. As such, you would have up to your 21st birthday to claim compensation from an employer

Because establishing liability can prove challenging in this type of work-related personal injury claim against an employer, it is wiser to seek legal advice as soon as possible and to begin a claim at the earliest opportunity to avoid your claim being “time barred”.

Is it Worth Suing an Employer if I am Injured due to Inadequate Training?

You may find that your injuries prevent you from working and bringing in your normal wage whether this is for the time it takes you to fully recover or because your injuries prevent you from working again. The financial hardship this may place on you at a time when you need to concentrate on other things can add to an already worrying situation. It is also worth noting that it is one of your worker’s rights to seek compensation for workplace injuries you sustained through no fault of your own. Even if you are partly responsible for your injuries, you still have the right to seek compensation from an employer who could be held partly responsible for the injuries you sustained.

With this said, a lot of work-related personal injury claims against employers are often hotly disputed by the insurers who do their best to pay as little in the way of compensation to injured parties as possible. An experience personal injury lawyer has the necessary legal expertise to establish employer liability and it usually only takes a solicitor’s letter for the insurance company to accept that your employer is liable for the injury you suffered in the workplace.

Would a Personal Injury Solicitor Represent Me On a No Win No Fee Basis?

Most personal injury solicitors would agree to represent you following an accident at work in which you suffered injuries through no fault of your own, on a No Win No Fee basis. This takes all financial risks of seeking compensation off the table as you would not have to pay the solicitor an upfront or ongoing fees for them to act on your behalf.

The only time you pay a No Win No Fee lawyer for the legal advice and representation they provided when you receive the accident at work compensation that you seek and the amount is taken out of the money you receive. Should you lose a claim, the “success fee” that was agreed when you signed the Conditional Fee Agreement would not be payable as this is written into the contract the solicitor entered into with you at the outset.

Accident At Work Claims Advice

Informative Links

For more information regarding your employer’s responsibilities and duty of care towards you and your fellow employees, please click on the link provided below:

An employer’s duty of care and responsibilities in the workplace

If you suffered an injury at work because you were insufficiently trained to use machinery, equipment or tools and you would like more information on the law and legislation regarding the use of machinery in the workplace, please click on the link below:

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

For more information about personal protective equipment in the workplace, please follow the link provided below:

Personal protective equipment in the workplace and your employer’s responsibility