What areas are involved in making a claim for a work injury?

It is a known fact that more injuries occur in the work place than anywhere else. If you are unfortunate enough to be the victim of a work injury, it is essential to make sure it is reported, as this may be a useful reference point if you decide to make a claim for compensation against the party you deem liable.

The following are common examples of work injuries. The pattern that reveals itself is that the majority of work injuries, especially the more severe ones, will be involved in the trade and construction industry. This is because of the substantial increase in hazards that there are at a work site rather than an office space.

Examples of work injury

• Building site accidents: These can occur from many different potential threats for example the risk of falling objects: all workers, even contractors and positions of authority must wear a hard hat on site.

• Construction accidents: The construction industry is the cause of a majority of work injuries due to the vast hazards it includes. Dangers including those when working height. If you are working above ground level you must be provided with the correct equipment and assistance to ensure potential work injuries do not occur.

• Dangerous machinery accidents: Any individual using machinery that is potentially dangerous should be instructed of the risks involved and all relevant training required, otherwise injuries can be sustained very easily.

• Faulty equipment injuries: Defective machinery and work equipment is frequently the cause of work injury if the equipment doesn't work as expected and becomes unpredictable.
• Manual handling injuries: Manual handling of objects on building sites: manual handling is when you are required to handle manual objects on a regular basis. Injuries such as vibration white finger is a common injury suffered from the manual handling of machinery.

• Forklift accidents: Injury from work vehicles can occur through negligence of the individuals involved or insufficient precautions being put in place.
How is the employer liable for compensation from the injuries sustained?

If any injuries in the areas mentioned above, or any work injury in an environment not mentioned, has been suffered by an individual then they are well within their rights to claim compensation for it. If their employer has ensured that all relevant health and safety precautions are in place, all risk assessments have been carried out and all relevant training has been issued, then it will be much harder to claim compensation. Sometimes an accident occurs even when all necessary precautions have been taken and there is little that can be done for a claim. However, in the circumstances that a work injury is sustained and the individual feels that their employer did not make all relevant precautions, then the employer can be held liable for all compensation costs. The following list details all the areas in which an employer could be held liable for various work injuries.

Employer Liability

• An employer's negligence in the areas necessary to avoid work injuries is the most common area in which a claim can be made against an employer. This can be evident through a lack of training or necessary advice on a job in hand. In this situation, if an injury occurs, the employer can be held liable.

• Health and safety is one of the biggest areas of which a claim can be made against an employer. The employer has the responsibility to make sure all employers are health and safety trained. There are specific certification schemes for working on construction sites that will need to be completed by employers and potential employees. All equipment that will be used needs to have a risk assessment carried out on it, detailing all necessary precautions. Certain manual equipment that is extremely tiring will need advice on exact techniques to use it and be advised to take frequent breaks. Although this is a huge area to cover, if an employer neglects one of the areas and a work injury is caused due to this, then they will be liable for any compensation costs.

• The employer also has the responsibility to ensure that the work environment is safe; this includes either advice on or removal of any hazard that could cause an injury.

The article has aimed to show the various areas that work injury can occur and the employers of a business can be held liable. For any claim against an employer for a work injury sustained, to ensure that the claim is handled correctly and efficiently, you should seek the advice of a professional work injury solicitor.

I am a legal writer who specialises in work injuries, if you would like more information about personal injuries and would like to find a solicitor, I suggest you have a look at lawontheweb.co.uk