Health and Safety at Work

At The Legal Line, one of our primary concerns is the safety of employees in the workplace. Our lawyers are actively involved in promoting health and safety in order to prevent accidents at work and industrial disease as far as possible.

Unfortunately, workplace accidents and exposures to harmful agents do occur and often result in employees suffering personal injury. If you have been involved in an accident at work, or have contracted an industrial disease, and feel that your employer or someone else was to blame, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Contact us on 0800 0328511 for cost free, expert accident claim advice, or complete a claim enquiry form online and we will contact you.

Workplace Health and Safety
Employer Responsibilities
Employee Responsibilities
Accidents at Work
Personal Protective Equipment
Manual Handling Safety
Working at Height
Workplace Safety for Pregnant Employees
Vibration
Exposure to Excessive Noise
Reporting an Accident at Work
Asbestos and Other Hazardous Substances
Vehicles at Work
Making a Personal Injury Claim
Injury Compensation
Our Specialist Lawyers
Letters of Thanks
Useful Contacts

Workplace Health and Safety

Every year, many people suffer accidents at work or contract industrial diseases, some serious or even fatal. There are also other considerations for employee safety, such as the risk of assaults at work or exposure to hazardous substances. Health and safety procedures in the workplace are therefore essential, as they work towards reducing the risk of injury to employees, visitors and contractors.

The requirements of each individual workplace differ, so it is important that employers and employees alike take steps to ensure that they are aware of any potential hazards and take reasonable precautions to prevent accidents or diseases from occurring.

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Employer Responsibilities

Your employer has a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure your safety and wellbeing during your time at work. This would include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Making risk assessments of each task to identify any potential risks, recording the results of these assessments and employing measures to eliminate risks as far as possible. The risk assessments have to be kept up to date and repeated if changes or events occur that require a re-evaluation of the risk.
• Ensuring that all employees are made aware of potential hazards in the workplace.
• Providing and maintaining a clean, safe workplace and safe working equipment.
• Ensuring that all employees are fully trained for the work required of them.
• Making required facilities such as drinking water, toilets, wash rooms, rest areas and kitchens available.
• Protecting employees from hazardous substances and materials by preventing exposure or controlling it as far as possible.
• Storing all materials correctly and safely.
• Maintaining adequate ventilation, lighting and an appropriate temperature in the workplace.
• Where necessary, providing any required personal protective equipment and ensuring that it is suitable and fit for use.
• Displaying warning signs where necessary, for the benefit of employees, visitors, contractors and members of the public.
• Having safe working practices in place and ensuring that employees are fully aware of them.
• Providing adequate first aid facilities, taking into account the size and nature of the business.
• Keeping plans for emergencies.
• Ensuring that the need for manual handling is reduced as far as possible and having safe procedures in place for occasions where it is necessary.
• Allowing employees to take the rest breaks and holidays that they are entitled to.

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Employee Responsibilities

As an employee, you also have a responsibility to exercise care whilst at work and take measures to ensure your own safety and the safety of those around you. Some guidelines to consider are detailed below, however this list is not comprehensive and there are likely to be more specific safety precautions in place at each different place of work:

• Dress appropriately for your type of work and, if outdoors, the weather conditions. This would include wearing suitable footwear and avoiding jewellery, loose hair or scarves if there is a chance they could become caught or tangled.
• Ensure that your employer is informed if there is some reason you may be unable to work as normal or may be more at risk of injury (for example if you are unwell, have a medical condition, are taking medication or could be pregnant).
• Follow any rules, regulations and safety procedures provided. Wear the personal protective equipment provided, which should fit properly and be capable of being worn safely, comfortably and properly in conjunction with any other required items of protective gear.
• Take care to ensure your safety whilst working and do not put yourself, or anyone else at unnecessary risk.
• Report any accidents, near misses or problems so that your employer can take the necessary action. Risk assessments will need to be carried out for all these events.
• Take the recommended rest breaks.
• Only use equipment or machinery for its correct purpose and in the manner as directed.

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Accidents at Work

There are many different circumstances under which an accident at work can occur, with causes ranging from insufficient training or defective equipment to tripping hazards and mistakes made by employees.

Accidents at work can result in injuries including broken bones from trips and falls, burns, back injuries, head injuries, crush injuries, serious lacerations, soft tissue injuries and many others. If you have suffered an accident at work it is advisable to report the accident or injury immediately, seek medical advice at the earliest opportunity and consult a specialist personal injury lawyer for advice on making a claim.

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Personal Protective Equipment

Risk assessments should be carried out for each task that an employee is required to perform in the course of their work. Sometimes, the risk assessment may indicate that personal protective equipment, or PPE, should be worn.

There are various types of PPE, ranging from gloves, helmets, safety spectacles, visors and boots to breathing apparatus, hearing protection and safety harnesses. Any equipment provided should be readily available at all times, well maintained, properly fitted and suitable for its purpose. See our personal protective equipment information page for more information.

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Manual Handling Safety

Many different jobs will involve some form of manual handling, where an employee has to lift, carry or move things. It may be that a person has to handle stock or building materials, for example, or perhaps assist in moving patients, say in a hospital or care home.

Whatever the task, anyone involved in manual handling should be adequately trained and given any appropriate aids (e.g. hoists, trolleys, vehicle tail lifts etc.). Employers should ensure that manual handling is only carried out when there is no alternative and that risk assessments have been carried out for each task.

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Working at Height

Falls from a height are a main cause of injuries and deaths at work. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 came into effect with the aim of reducing the number of such incidents.

Safety when working at height is of the utmost importance so employers should provide suitable, safe and well maintained equipment and ensure that employees are trained and competent. Work at height should be properly planned, carefully risk assessed and only carried out when the conditions are suitable. Employers should also take steps to ensure that objects are prevented from falling from a height when they could do so and cause harm.

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Workplace Safety for Pregnant Employees

Pregnant employees, or those who have recently given birth can have different needs to other employees. There may also be specific risks to pregnant women that do not apply to others. Therefore employers should carry out risk assessments as soon as they are informed that one of their employees is pregnant.

You can find more detailed information and guidance for expectant mothers in the workplace in our page about health and safety for pregnant employees.

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Vibration

Extensive use of vibrating tools or equipment can cause harm to employees. Conditions such as vibration white finger (also known as hand arm vibration syndrome, or HAVS) and carpal tunnel syndrome can develop.

The symptoms of vibration white finger include tingling, numbness, loss of colour and dexterity in the fingers and sometimes aching. Usually these symptoms are more noticeable during cold weather and can make it more difficult for the sufferer to carry out certain tasks, particularly those that involve handling smaller objects or gripping.

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Exposure to Excessive Noise

Many industrial processes produce high levels of noise and, without the correct hearing protection and adequate health and safety measures, this can cause damage to the hearing of employees.

If a person suffers hearing loss or develops tinnitus due to their work in an excessively noisy environment, they may be entitled to claim compensation. Occupational deafness (also known as industrial deafness, noise induced hearing loss or NIHL) is most common amongst people who have worked around large machinery, in factories, in manufacturing or engineering environments or around guns or explosives, amongst others.

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Reporting an Accident at Work

Most workplaces should have an accident book, where details of any injuries, even minor injuries, can and must be recorded. If you suffer an accident at work, or develop an industrial disease, you should ensure that it is recorded in the accident book, as it can be useful if you later decide to make a compensation claim.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) came into force with the aim of identifying areas of risk, investigating serious incidents and preventing similar incidents occurring in the future. Your employer must report any serious accidents, dangerous incidents or work related illnesses to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), or Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).

This would include any accident involving a serious injury or fatality, an injury that prevents an employee from working for more than 3 days, a disease or a dangerous occurrence (e.g. serious equipment failures, explosions, collapse of structures or scaffolding etc.).

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Asbestos and Other Hazardous Substances

Employees should always be given adequate protection against the harmful effects of any pollutants and hazardous substances that they may come into contact with in the course of their work. This includes substances such as asbestos, coal dust, silica, organophosphates, radiation, carbon monoxide, benzene, mercury, lead and other dusts, fumes, allergens or hazardous chemicals.

Exposure to hazardous substances can cause industrial illnesses such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, silicosis, pneumoconiosis, occupational asthma, occupational dermatitis and bladder cancer.

The risk of contact with harmful substances should be reduced as much as is reasonably practicable and where it is absolutely necessary the relevant training and personal protective equipment should always be provided. Other health and safety measures, such as fume extractors and ventilation systems should also be employed. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos

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Vehicles at Work

There are always risks associated with driving and using the roads, however those that drive as part of their work are often on the road for a higher percentage of the time than other people. They therefore run a greater risk of being involved in a road accident. It is therefore essential that every precaution is taken to reduce the risk of accidents as far as possible.

Employers must make sure that all employees required to drive are fully qualified and are provided with roadworthy vehicles (or that their own, private vehicles are roadworthy). It is also important that they meet the legal eyesight requirements, drive within the law, take regular rest breaks and do not use mobile telephones whilst driving.

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Making a Personal Injury Claim

It is always a advisable to seek prompt legal advice if you have suffered any type of accident at work or industrial disease and believe that you may be entitled to make a compensation claim. In every case, medical evidence will be required. Detailed expert evidence is often also required in industrial disease cases to show that the condition suffered by a claimant was caused by exposure to a particular substance.

In any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. Your lawyer will be able to collate all of the information about your case and advise you on the best way in which to proceed.

If an injury at work does occur, you should try to record as much information as you can, taking photographs where possible. If applicable, try to ensure that your accident is also recorded in any accident book. Remember to keep details of any medical treatment and receipts for any injury related expenses, as these may be useful in your claim.

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Injury Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award. The first, called general damages, is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and any loss of amenity (perhaps an inability to play sports, carry out household chores, walk the dog). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.

The second element of a compensation award, for your losses and expenses, is known as special damages and aims to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident so that these can be reclaimed.

In serious cases, where a person may no longer be able to continue their employment, this can be taken into account. Costs for care, equipment, transport and housing modifications can also be factored into the calculations. If the person is still able to work but not in the same role as before, particularly if they held a public service role such as a doctor or police officer, an extra amount may be awarded for loss of ‘congenial employment’. A court can also make a financial award to recognise that an injured worker's prospects on the open labour market may be limited.

If a person is fatally injured, a dependent relative such as a widow and children may be able to claim a statutory sum for their bereavement and funeral expenses, but also sums for the loss of income and contribution to the household in the form of future losses.

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Our Specialist Lawyers

Our solicitors are experts in all areas of personal injury and have extensive experience in recovering compensation for the victims of accidents at work and industrial illnesses.

See below articles about some of the important issues we are involved in and details of some of the many successful claims we have handled for injured clients (further stories can be founf in our news and success stories sections):

Teacher Injured at Work: A teacher was using materials prepared by a technician for a science lesson. A container holding a corrosive chemical had not been properly secured and, as it was lifted, the top came away causing it to fall. As a result the solution splashed out and our client suffered chemical burns, required hospital treatment and was left with scarring.

Our lawyers represented the injured teacher in a personal injury claim, as the school were responsible for the negligent actions of their technician, who was not properly trained. The claim was successful and settled for over £10,000 in compensation.

NHS Employee Suffers Slip at Work: Our client, a hospital employee, was walking along a corridor on her way to visit a patient when she suffered a slip at work. Unfortunately the floor was very wet and it transpired that this was because cleaning was in progress, however no signs were displayed to alert people to the hazard. Our client had only taken a few steps in the corridor when the accident happened, the cleaner was some distance away and the corridor was busy, so she had no way of knowing that the floor was wet.

The claimant’s foot was fractured as a result of this accident at work and she was unable to work for approximately 3 months. She required physiotherapy treatment to help her recovery and needed assistance from her friends and family with household tasks until her foot was healed.

Our lawyers have extensive experience in making personal injury claims on behalf of injured workers and we were able to obtain a compensation settlement of £12,000. Although her employer admitted liability for the incident, they initially made a lower offer and negotiations had to be undertaken to secure a reasonable sum. This case highlights the importance of instructing an experienced lawyer who will fight to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation possible.

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Letters of Thanks

Below are extracts from letters of thanks sent by our clients regarding their successful claims for injuries sustained at work:

  • Mr Forward, who was injured at work by a faulty equipment trolley, said: “I send this letter to you to express my most sincere thanks for all the hard work and expertise you have put into achieving this final settlement of my compensation case. ... Without your knowledge I realise that the way forward would have been much more difficult, if not impossible. ... ”
  • Mr Tibbs, suffered a back injury at work due to a defective hinge on a ramp. He commented: “Thank you for bringing my claim to a satisfactory conclusion.”
  • Mr Wain, was using a sling to turn a table when it failed and caused him an injury. He said: “Just to say thank you for all the work you put in to our claim for compensation. We are delighted with the outcome.”
  • Mr Helme, suffered injuries to his rib cage, shoulder, elbow and knee in an accident at work when a piece of pipework fell onto him. He commented: “I am writing to thank you for the quick resolution to my accident claim. I was very pleased with the service that your firm provided, in particular your advice not to accept the first offer made and your telephone calls to keep me updated. I would have no hesitation in recommending you to others faced with a similar situation.”
  • Mr Musgrove, who suffered a serious finger injury in the course of his work as a firefighter, said: “On behalf of myself and my family I would like to thank you for your continued support, help and advice regarding my claim. ... I have been very pleased with the support and help I have been given by Thompsons Solicitors. I have been so impressed by the professional service. Once again many thanks for all your help and support and I wish you all the best for the future.
  • Mr Treen, who was injured by an escaped animal in the course of his work as a meat hygiene inspector, wrote: 'I would like to thank Thompsons Solicitors, for the service they have provided for me throughout the period of my claim for industrial injury.'

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Useful Contacts

For more information about health and safety issues, you may find the following sites useful:

Health and Safety Executive
Directgov
Trades Union Congress
Hazards Magazine

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