Accidents in the workplace

More accidents happen at work than anywhere else. Almost half of all accidents happen in the workplace. It can often be difficult for employees to instigate claims if actual injury has been suffered. Employees are scared of possible "repercussions" if they involve the company in court proceedings.

These fears are groundless as employers are obliged by law to have insurance, which covers them if an employee suffers injury in the workplace. Action can be taken against employers who discriminate because employees are pursuing legitimate claims for accident compensation.

Not that there is a crossover between liability in negligence and the duties which have been imposed by law to cover specific accident situations (particularly Health and Safety regulations). There are also laws with which employers must comply with or risk criminal and civil prosecution cases.

Our advice is that the first practical thing to do if you suffer a work accident and you are going to be off work for a period of time, is to make sure you receive statutory sick pay. If you are still off work after six months, you can seek long-term invalidity or disablement benefit. Check any additional contractual payment which is available.

All accidents should be noted in the company's accident record book (required by law). If there is no company book, or if no-one has made a note of the incident then tell your employer in writing the full circumstances of the accident and details of the personal injury.

Can you make a claim? - you will have to prove that your employer has caused the injury through failure to take reasonable care (there are different legal standards required regarding subcontractors or visitors).

The company must provide a safe way to carry out work; safe premises; suitable materials and equipment; training courses and supervision; competent staff and so on.

The employer must ensure that you are able to carry out work in the safest way possible, regarding the equipment that you work with and the tasks involved. Typical standards within the industry can be used as a benchmark to assess whether the employer has done enough to avoid the injury or accident.

Some basic steps in the event of a road accident

If you are involved in a road accident where someone other than yourself has been hurt or damage has been caused to property or an animal, then you must stop and give your name and address and your vehicle's full registration number, and insurance details (if you have them), to any third parties involved.

You must by UK law report it to the police within a 24 hour period, if you have not actually stopped and/or not been able to provide all details of name and address, vehicle registration and basic insurance details to all the parties.

Be sure to make a note of the manufacturer, colour and model of the vehicles involved, together with their number plate. Note the actual damage to other vehicles, by taking photographs where possible. Make a note of all the other drivers' names and their full address details.

Make a note of all witness names and full addresses. Contact the police in all but the simplest of accidents. Never make any admissions about your own or others liability. Produce a sketch plan of the accident scene and where all the vehicles finished (with some proper measurements of where the vehicles finished).

Write down your own version of the incident details. Ring your insurers as soon as possible afterwards to make your accident claim. If you have suffered injury in any way, get it checked out by a doctor. If the accident was not your fault and you have suffered even a slight injury then you should consider damages. You do not need to use the actual solicitors chosen by your insurers. They may be suitable for your insurance company, but they are not always best for you. If your vehicle will be off the road for a little while then you may be entitled to a hire vehicle from the compensation.

Many of us associate road accidents with a vehicle crash or a motoring incident. Sadly, most of us in our overall driving lives will have the experience of at least one such incident.

Many of these incidents do not result in serious injury. But if you are injured in an incident (either as the driver or passenger) - whether it is simple bruising or a whiplash, or possibly something even more serious, it's worth finding out if you possibly have a case for compensation.

A road accident is treated in the UK in exactly the same way as any other type of accident. You need to establish that it is a third party’s fault (or partly a third party’s fault or negligence).

By law, all drivers must have purchased a minimum of third party cover. Their insurance company will pay if the driver causes injury or damage to a third party (including all passengers). If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, or with a driver who doesn't stop at the scene of the accident, then your claims are quite possibly covered by an agreement by the MIB.