What and When to Claim for Accident at Work

If you suffer an injury during the course of your working day, what action can you take and how do you know what your legal rights are?  Can you make a claim for compensation?  The purpose of this article is to explore these questions and other ones connected with an accident at work.

What is a work accident and who is responsible?

Whilst you are at work, your employer has a duty to ensure that you remain safe and free from injury.  If he fails to do so, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

Your employer is responsible for your safety due to much Health & Safety legislation, and various cases that have been decided. 

Types of work accidents

There are many common types of work accidents but ones that frequently happen include:

• Accidents involved whilst driving work vehicles.
• Accidents involving machinery.
• Factory, warehouse and retail accidents.
• Accidents in offices.

However or wherever your accident occurred, it is easy to start a search for assistance and legal representation on the Internet. 

What should you do after an accident?

The first stage is to report the details of the accident in the work accident book.  Every employer must keep one of these and you must be told where it is.  You can ask for an entry to be made.  You should also ask any of your colleagues that witness the accident to make a written note explaining what happened as soon as possible to the time of the accident.  This will ensure that the evidence is as fresh as possible.

If there is other evidence, this should also be obtained and preserved.  This might include taking photographs of the scene of the accident (using a newspaper or other item to date the photograph) and ensuring that any damaged equipment leading to the injury is maintained. 

What happens next?

If you have sustained any injury which is more than minor, you should attend your General Practitioner or Accident & Emergency Department. You will receive any treatment for your injuries, but this also acts as an excellent record of your accident and subsequent injury and will be needed by your solicitor.

Seek a specialist work accident solicitor

If you have suffered a serious injury and want to investigate whether you can make a claim for compensation following your work accident, you should contact a solicitor with expertise in this area.