Who is responsible for reporting an accident at work?
Accident at work compensation claims is here to protect you in case you get hurt in the workplace. Employers have a duty of care and responsibility to their employees. Every employer who retains staff must have employment liability cover for their staff, so if the worst happens, you can be looked after. It does not matter how bad your injuries are, or whether you work in an office, retail or on a construction site. It’s important that if you have an accident, the accident at work is logged with the business. Many employers will have an accident book, where accidents must be reported if they happen on premises or within working hours. Usually, it is down to you to report an accident at work. You should log this with your HR department or a Manager responsible for your safety.
By doing this, you will have a record of the event, which will enable you to make a claim. This will ensure that the hazard is dealt with and you are financially compensated for your losses, physical damages and emotional trauma. Solicitors On Your Side cover claims nationally, so we are best placed to help you if you suffered a work accident or injury in the UK, throughout England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Unfortunately, work accident compensation claims can get complicated, especially if your employer wasn’t directly responsible for your injuries. Instead, you could have got hurt due to one of your colleagues. Now, it’s important to recognise that this may have been due to an honest mistake or unfortunately because of their behaviour and negligence. So if you have an accident at work and then report the accident to the relevant person, what happens if the accident was caused by a colleague?
Is my colleague responsible for injuries and compensation in a work accident?
In short, whilst your colleague may have been the one who caused the injuries or the instance that resulted in your becoming injured in the workplace, it is your employer who is ultimately responsible for your safety and the insurance policy that covers employees would come into force, to cover your compensation payout. In legal terms, this is also known as vicarious liability. To put this into plain English, “Vicarious” means something that is experienced by somebody else rather than it being yourself. “Liability” means that you are meant to be responsible or ”at fault”. Putting the two together then means the person who actually inflicted the harm may not actually be the one who is at fault. If the employee is acting on the instruction of a higher authority, the liability of the accident will fall on them.
In summary; Vicarious Liability means that the employer is actually liable for damages because their employers (and their actions) give the instructions and are responsible for any hazards that are not marked out and put right. It’s up to the employer to enforce good and safe practices in the workplace, so accidents at work instances are minimised.
Speak to one of our solicitors at Solicitors On Your Side, in our Preston office for more information on Accident at Work Claims. We will be able to assess your case free of charge, no win no fee.
How could my colleague have caused my work accident injuries?
There are a few different reasons why accidents at work may happen. This ranges vastly depending on the job you have. Work accidents can happen in construction, agriculture, shipping, warehouses, offices, schools and kitchens. So you can see that there are a number of factors that can become high risk, depending on where you work. However, underlying factors will contribute towards accidents at work if:
- Neither you nor your colleagues received proper training
- You and your colleagues are asked to carry out inappropriate tasks (i.e. carrying heavy boxes)
- Both you and your colleagues are not allowed to take proper breaks
- None of the environmental hazards in your workplace has been marked out (i.e. puddles)
- You and your colleagues were told to use faulty/damaged equipment
And then if you got hurt in an accident at work, it falls on your employer to pay your compensation. You should feel safe in the workplace and every effort should be made to minimise risks. Therefore, if your colleagues cause an accident that is beyond the control of either of you (i.e. by dropping something on you or spilling something), it is the responsibility of the employer to pay compensation.
Can my colleague claim any form of compensation after my accident at work?
Every work accident is different. Different injuries will lead to different forms of compensation and this depends entirely on the accident circumstances. If you have been seriously hurt due to your accident, your colleague could claim third-party damages due to emotional or psychological trauma. However, this sort of compensation does depend on whether they fall into certain criteria (i.e. if they witnessed your accident or if they are a very close family member, friend or loved one). It will also depend on whether or not they got hurt themselves. If they did get receive injuries as a result of the accident as well, then they could make their own work accident compensation claim.
What can I claim for after an accident at work?
Your employer has to carry out employer’s liability insurance for employees that work in the business. This is to cover an accident caused in the workplace and to ensure employees are compensated, should the worst happen whilst on duty. The point of compensation is to restore you back to the original position you were in before you got hurt. This means you could claim for:
- Physical Injuries such as trauma, broken arm, broken leg, amputation, whiplash, back strain, repetitive strain injury, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, hernia and much more. There are so many physical injuries that can be caused by accidents at work, that no matter what injury has been caused, you can claim compensation if you have suffered.
- Emotional Damages. These can range vastly and it’s often up to a medical professional to assess the extent of emotional damage you may have suffered after an accident. In most instances, post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome (PTSD) is common, along with anxiety, depression and others.
- Financial Losses, such as medical expenses, travel costs, loss of wages due to illness or injury caused, cost of physiotherapy or for prescriptions to help medicate the injury.
- Loss of Opportunity (i.e. promotion or wage increases)
Making an accident at work claim covers a number of losses and the responsibility of your employer is to put you back into a position similar to before the accident happened if it was their fault. We would recommend speaking to one of the solicitors at Solicitors On Your Side, to find out what you could claim for.
What should you do if a colleague caused you to have an accident at work?
If you got hurt due to an accident caused by your colleague, you should consider your safety above everything else. Ask for your accident to be written down in the work accident handbook by your manager or an HR professional and get a copy. You should also ask to get medical assistance as quickly as possible. Even if you are only suffering from minor injuries, going to get your injuries checked out can stop them from getting worse. This is also an important part of you gathering evidence towards your accident at work claim. Whilst visiting a medical professional, a log will be created covering all of the details you discuss, how the injury was caused, who was responsible and the severity of your injuries.
Make sure that your employer is fully notified about the accident and start to collect evidence. Evidence may include:
- Photographs of your injury and the work environment to show any malfunction or inappropriate equipment
CCTV footage if possible or video footage recorded by you afterwards. This is really useful evidence - Witness statements and testimonies from colleagues, the general public or other witnesses
- Police reports if it was caused in an area that required police attendance, such as a traffic accident or a public premises.
- Medical reports as noted above
- Diary Event Entries. It’s useful to keep an up-to-date diary of your days after the accident including expenses, injury monitoring and calls with your employer.
Receipts of financial losses
What is the process for making an accident at work compensation claim?
We would highly recommend that you get in touch with Solicitors On Your Side, as quickly as possible about your accident at work claim. From there, Solicitors On Your Side will appoint one of our in-house accident at work solicitors to your case and we will be able to discuss the process moving forwards. It is very much dependent on the accident circumstances. If you have a complicated work accident claim, for instance, if an employer refuses to take responsibility for your accident, it will take longer than a few months to get compensation for your injuries, whereby if the employer is happy to get on with helping you get better quickly, the case could be as quick as 2-3 steps. Be patient with your solicitor and ask them for their opinion on deadlines. They can keep you updated with the latest information about your case.
Do you have an accident at work injury calculator?
We don’t have a calculator on our website as it gives an unrealistic figure for compensation. Many injury calculators will give you a range that your injuries fall within, but in most cases, these range dramatically. For a realistic calculation, speak to Solicitors On Your Side. Your solicitor here will give you the very best advice and estimate. Even if we are not helping you yet, you can still get free advice and an assessment of your claim before we start any work. In addition, we work on a no-win, no fee basis, so our service, so there is no risk to working with us.
Broadly, any compensation estimations depend on the extent of your injuries and how bad your losses are. If you have suffered from life-changing injuries, you could be owed thousands. No matter what extent these injuries are. If it wasn’t your fault, your employer will be liable.
How do I make a work compensation claim with Solicitors On Your Side?
Here at Solicitors On Your Side, the solicitors here in our Preston, Lancashire office, understand that any type of work accident can be traumatic. Work Accidents can leave you with life-changing injuries and may leave you wondering if you will have a job to go back to if you make a claim. We hope to put your mind at ease by saying, every employer has the responsibility for your safety. They cannot discriminate against you for making a claim and it will not cost your employer anything for you to do this. They have insurance there for a reason. Any employer will always have your interests at the front of their mind. Not if it will affect their future insurance premium. That’s why you should get in touch with Solicitors On Your Side to get some help. We can make the whole claims process simple. Our solicitors offer free advice and assessments to get you started. If you are happy to work with us, we can offer our services on a “no win-no fee” basis. That means you will always come out on top, no matter what type of claim you have.
Contact Solicitors On Your Side today by calling 0330 912 2124 emailing [email protected] or by using our LiveChat facility during office hours via the website: Contact Us
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