Making a Workplace Accident Claim
When you are injured and another person is at fault you have the legal right to claim recompense through an accident claim. The most frequent examples of these circumstances include slips on local authority owned property or road traffic accidents. However, the same rules apply to people who have been injured in the workplace. Where the employer’s negligence was to blame for the accident, the injured worker can enlist the help of an accident claim solicitor to help them claim compensation.
Injuries at work can take on a variety of forms and some are more serious than others. Employers are legally responsible for safeguarding their employees by training them in the safest ways to carry out their work, providing the appropriate protective equipment and clothing and ensuring that any equipment is in good working order, amongst many other aspects of health and safety at work. Deciding whether or not to go ahead with an accident claim is never an easy decision for those people who have been injured at work. But many find themselves either temporarily or permanently unable to work, and therefore out of pocket. By no means is compensation intended as free money: on the contrary it is intended to try and put the injured party into the financial position they would have been in were it not for the accident.
Many workers worry about the possible repercussions of making their workplace accident claim. They need not worry because they are legally protected from dismissal owing to their claim. Also, employers are legally obliged to have liability insurance to cover the costs in just such circumstances.
If you suffer an accident at work, you need to take some action. Ensure that minor accidents are recorded in the employer’s accident book. If it is major the company is obliged to report it to the Health and Safety Executive. Seek medical treatment first and foremost, but keep receipts for any expenses incurred as a result of your injury, these costs can be claimed back in an accident claim. You have three years from the time of the accident to claim.