Injured passengers and basic steps

When your're involved in a road accident in which someone has been hurt or actual damage or injury has been caused to property or an animal, then you must stop and give your name and address (and the name and address of the owner of the vehicle) and the vehicle's registration number, and insurance details to any third parties involved.

You must by law report it to the police within 24 hours, and if you have not stopped or not been able to provide details of name and address, registration number and insurance details to the third parties.

Be sure to make a note of the make, colour and model of any vehicles involved, together with their registration plate. Be sure to note the damage to other vehicles, and take photographs if possible. Make a note of the other drivers' full names and addresses.

Also, make a note of all witness names and addresses. Call the police in all but the most straightforward of cases. Do not make any admissions about claims or liability. Draw a sketch plan of the scene and where the vehicles were (take some proper measurements).

Write down your own version of what happened. Tell your insurers as soon as possible after the accident. If you have suffered injury in any way, get checked out by a doctor. If it was not your fault and you have even a slight injury then you should consider  claiming compensation. You do not need to use the insurer's solicitors. They may be convenient for them, but not the best for you. If your vehicle is going to be off the road then you may be entitled to a hire one.

Injured passengers

Passengers who have suffered an injury in a car, van or on a motorbike may have possible claims and you should proceed, no matter who the driver of the actual vehicle was.

It's irrelevant that you know or be related to the driver - it is of no consequence. You may feel embarrassed about bringing a claim, but don't be. If the driver was not at fault, then your claims will be against the other party. Even if your driver was at fault then it will be handled by his or her insurance company, so they will not be paying anything themselves.

The driver owes you a duty of care to ensure that you are reasonably safe and the same principle applies to other vehicle drivers and road users. When this duty is breached and you suffer injury, then you have a claim.

All passengers have rights, just as drivers. Be sure that you note any injury, no matter how slight they seem. They could be worsening later with serious complications.

Work accident checklist

Firstly, make sure the accident is be noted in the company's accident record book (this is normally required by law for companies with more than ten employees). If there is not a company accident book, or if no other manager has made a note of the accident then you should inform your employer in writing of the full detailed circumstances of the accident and the details of the personal injury you have suffered as a result.

Do you have a possible case? You will need to prove that your employer has caused the injury through his failure to take reasonable care to prevent the injury happening in the first place – to you, the employee (there are different legal clauses regarding subcontractors or company visitors to workplaces).

This means that the employer must provide a safe way to carry out your work to avoid injury; completely safe and accident-free premises; suitable equipment; adequate supervision; competent staff training and so on.

Your employer must always ensure that you are able to carry out your work in the safest possible way, bearing in mind the precise type of work you do, the equipment that you use and your tasks. These facts are relevant to the possible accident claim, and standards within the employer's industry can be used as a benchmark to assess whether the company has done enough to avoid the accident.

If there are known accident dangers then it's the company's responsibilities and the employee needs to be advised of these dangers and must be trained in these tasks to avoid any incident eg if the job involves heavy lifting then employees must be advised on the safest way to lift, in order to prevent injury. Accident safety checks must be made regularly to demonstrate that all these methods are being fully adopted in the workplace.

Your employer must also make sure that the specific places where you work and the company premises are completely safe for their employees and subcontractors. One example of a very clear breach of this duty would be if the floors were wet or obstructed, so that staff could have an accident by falling over them, resulting in accidents. All companies are also responsible for the heating and ventilation of their offices and work premises, the efficiency of the lighting and even the eveness of the car park surfaces.

Your employer is also responsible for providing appropriate equipment to do your job, also the training on how to use the equipment, plus how to check it and maintain it, and how to use it correctly tby providing full and proper training and supervision to avoid accidents.

Company training should cover all the equipment that you use - from your chair to an electric drill or the wastebin. The employer always has full responsibility for all equipment and the way that you use it in the course of your work.

Your employer must also make sure that employees are competent in their jobs, and that they do not put others at risk by what their actions. When an employee injures another employee through failure to use their equipment properly, or they have a drug problem for example, then the company could be liable for dangerous actions and a number of potentially safety-related claims may be available.