MCP Solicitors' Guide To Accidents At Work
If you have suffered an accident at work you may be able to pursue a Personal Injury claim for compensation.
We offer a free initial consultation and if you have a Personal Injury claim MCP Solicitors' Personal Injury lawyers will investigate and build up evidence to prove your case.
We aim to give clear and straightforward advice and keep you informed as your Personal Injury claim progresses to achieve the best settlement possible.
What types of accidents at work do you deal with?
- Injuries involving lifting
- Injuries involving manual handling
- Accidents arising from defective or faulty work equipment
- Injuries suffered from falls
- Slip and trip accidents
- Injuries at work arising from inadequate or lack of personal protective equipment
- And more
How common are injuries involving lifting or manual handling?
Manual handling is the cause of 40% of accidents at work. Such accidents may cause not only back injuries but also upper and lower limb and muscular injuries or exacerbate pre-existing conditions.
What must employers do to prevent injuries involving lifting or manual handling?
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations apply to all employers and require the risks involved in the task as a whole be considered, not just the weights involved.
Manual handling relates to any transporting or supporting of a load, including lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving.
Employers must take all reasonable steps to avoid manual handling but, if it is unavoidable, appropriate steps must be taken to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level possible to include training of employees.
What obligations do employers have regarding work equipment?
Work equipment has to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided. Employers are under a duty to minimise the risk of any effect work equipment may have on their employees' health and safety.
Employers must also ensure the work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and is in good repair. Furthermore employees must be adequately trained on use of the work equipment, risks and precautions.
What must employers do to prevent falls?
Every employer should ensure work is not carried out at height if a safer alternative method can be used. Suitable and sufficient measures, so far as reasonably practicable, must be taken to prevent any person falling a distance likely to cause injury.
What do slip and trip accidents involve?
These type of accidents may occur at the regular place of work or on different sites and may involve:
- Failure to light an area adequately
- Failure to repair or warn of a tripping hazard
- Failure to provide suitable flooring material
- Failure to provide handrails on stairs
There is a duty to ensure all work areas and walkways are free from hazards.
When must personal protective equipment be provided?
Every employer must undertake a risk assessment of the workplace and implement measures to reduce the risks at source. Personal protective equipment must be provided where it can to reduce the risk of injury to employees.
Claims generally take somewhere from six months to two years. However, this varies from claim to claim.
