Aplus Legal Advice | 2022.09.11 18:33 | 582 views
Accidents are a fact of life. They do happen even in the most cautious of workplaces. If you are involved in an accident at work, you will be entitled to compensation. In litigation, it will be necessary for you to show that your employer was at fault and the injuries were caused by the negligence of your employer.
Accidents In The Workplace
Accidents are a fact of life. They do happen even in the most cautious of workplaces. If you are involved in an accident at work, you will be entitled to compensation. In litigation, it will be necessary for you to show that your employer was at fault and the injuries were caused by the negligence of your employer. Your employer is also responsible for the actions of work colleagues who cause accidents involving injury. Please remember that you have an obligation to make your employer aware of any accidents, which occur whilst at work. Every employer with more than ten employees is legally obliged to keep an Accident Book under Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979. Details of your work-related injuries should be properly recorded in the Accident Book. These records must be kept for a minimum of three years and can be used as evidence in a future work accident claim. As an employee, you should ensure all details recorded in the Accident Book are as accurate as possible and the incident has been reported by your employer to HSE without delay.
Please note that your employer cannot terminate your employment if you claim compensation. If you are in any doubt or have any concern over this, we recommend that you consult us immediately.
Who is Responsible for Reporting RIDDOR?
If you are an employer, self-employed, or in control of a work premises, you are required under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) to report certain types of work-related accidents and accidents at work, diseases, and dangerous occurrences. RIDDOR is a UK health and safety legislation that requires responsible persons including employers, the self-employed, and any person in control of work premises to report certain types of reportable workplace incidents. If a ‘responsible person fails to report a workplace accident within the prescribed time limits, he may face a jail term of up to 2 years and large fines as penalty. In 2011, Tesco was fined £34,000 for breaching RIDDOR reporting procedure. Reporting accidents at work and ill health at work is a legal requirement under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. The information gathered helps the Local Authority and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to identify where and how risks arise and to prevent reoccurrence and further pain and suffering to employees. If you are an employee, you don’t have the legal responsibility to report workplace accidents to HSE. If you experience or witness a workplace accident, you must report it to the appropriate supervisor, your employer, or failing that, your union representatives.
What Must be Reported?
Not every accident at work needs to be reported. Only work-related accidents which result in a reportable injury must be reported.
As an employer, you must report all of the following:
• Work-related deaths (including all deaths of workers and non-workers)
• Specified injuries (serious, but non-fatal injuries). Specified injuries include:
• Fracture to any bone (except fractures to a finger, thumb, or toe)
• Amputation
• Permanent loss of sight or reduction of sight
• Crush injury to head or internal organs
• Serious burns including scalding
• Scalping
• Unconsciousness by head injury or asphyxia
• Other injuries leading to hypothermia, heat-reduced illness
An over-seven-day injury (this is when an employee or self-employed person has an accident at work and as a result, he is unable to perform his routine work duties for more than seven consecutive days).
Do Over 3-Day Injuries Need To Be Reported?
Where the workplace injury has resulted in over three-day incapacitations, you’re not required to report it. It is sufficient to record details of injuries in the Accident Book.
• Work-related diseases
• Carcinogens mutagens and biological agents
• A dangerous occurrence (often referred to as near-miss events with
the potential to cause harm). This includes failure of lifting equipment,
pressure systems, contact with overhead electric lines, electrical
incidents causing explosion or fire, escape of biological agents,
irradiation, malfunction of breathing apparatus, failure of life support
equipment and diving equipment, train collisions, explosion or fire, the
release of flammable liquids and gasses, hazardous escape of
substances.
• Where a non-worker (a member of the public) is taken directly to a
hospital. However, where no injury is apparent and hospitalization is
done as a precaution, such incidents do not need to be reported.
• Occupational diseases (industrial diseases likely to have been caused
or made worse by work) These include carpal tunnel syndrome, cramp
in the hand or forearm, occupational dermatitis, hand-arm vibration
syndrome, occupational asthma, and occupational cancer.
• Any disease resulting from occupational exposure to biological agents
• Reportable gas incidents in the workplace
However, there are workplace incidents that you won’t have to report. Examples include mental health issues, acts of non-consensual violence over personal disputes, suicides, and natural hazards which do not arise from a work-related accident.
How soon should you report the Incident?
Reporting workplace incidents is a simple process. It should be done within the stipulated time frames by submitting the appropriate online form via the HSE website. HSE is Britain’s health and safety regulator dedicated to preventing death, injury, and ill-health in workplaces. Time scales for reporting accidents at work vary depending on the severity of the accident and the guide below should be followed.
• Where the accident has resulted in someone’s death or a major injury,
the HSE needs to be notified immediately.
• Specified injuries need to be reported within ten days of the incident.
• Over 7-day injuries need to be reported as soon as practicable within
15 days.
• Work-related diseases should be reported as soon as they are
diagnosed.
• Dangerous occurrences need to be reported immediately.
• Cases of occupational disease must be reported as soon as they are
diagnosed.
Once reported, if the reported incident is serious enough to warrant an investigation, HSE will investigate the matter further. Have you suffered an accident at work? If so, you may well be able to claim compensation from your employer's insurance company.
A work injury can be defined as any accident arising out of or related to work activities that could have been avoided. And if the work injury is not your fault, you’re entitled to reasonable financial compensation. If you’re an employer concerned with RIDDOR, reporting obligations or an employee injured in course of your work, help is at hand. At (name of your law firm), we have a specialist work-accident compensation team of solicitors, who are all fully qualified members of The Law Society Panel of Personal Injury, ex……..
Accidents are a fact of life. They do happen even in the most cautious of workplaces. If you are involved in an accident at work, you will be entitled to compensation. In litigation, it will be necessary for you to show that your employer was at fault and the injuries were caused by the negligence of your employer. Your employer is also responsible for the actions of work colleagues who cause accidents involving injury. Please remember that you have an obligation to make your employer aware of any accidents, which occur whilst at work. Every employer with more than ten employees is legally obliged to keep an Accident Book under Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979. Details of your work-related injuries should be properly recorded in the Accident Book. These records must be kept for a minimum of three years and can be used as evidence in a future work accident claim. As an employee, you should ensure all details recorded in the Accident Book are as accurate as possible and the incident has been reported by your employer to HSE without delay.
Please note that your employer cannot terminate your employment if you claim compensation. If you are in any doubt or have any concern over this, we recommend that you consult us immediately.
Who is Responsible for Reporting RIDDOR?
If you are an employer, self-employed, or in control of a work premises, you are required under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) to report certain types of work-related accidents and accidents at work, diseases, and dangerous occurrences. RIDDOR is a UK health and safety legislation that requires responsible persons including employers, the self-employed, and any person in control of work premises to report certain types of reportable workplace incidents. If a ‘responsible person fails to report a workplace accident within the prescribed time limits, he may face a jail term of up to 2 years and large fines as penalty. In 2011, Tesco was fined £34,000 for breaching RIDDOR reporting procedure. Reporting accidents at work and ill health at work is a legal requirement under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. The information gathered helps the Local Authority and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to identify where and how risks arise and to prevent reoccurrence and further pain and suffering to employees. If you are an employee, you don’t have the legal responsibility to report workplace accidents to HSE. If you experience or witness a workplace accident, you must report it to the appropriate supervisor, your employer, or failing that, your union representatives.
What Must be Reported?
Not every accident at work needs to be reported. Only work-related accidents which result in a reportable injury must be reported.
As an employer, you must report all of the following:
• Work-related deaths (including all deaths of workers and non-workers)
• Specified injuries (serious, but non-fatal injuries). Specified injuries include:
• Fracture to any bone (except fractures to a finger, thumb, or toe)
• Amputation
• Permanent loss of sight or reduction of sight
• Crush injury to head or internal organs
• Serious burns including scalding
• Scalping
• Unconsciousness by head injury or asphyxia
• Other injuries leading to hypothermia, heat-reduced illness
An over-seven-day injury (this is when an employee or self-employed person has an accident at work and as a result, he is unable to perform his routine work duties for more than seven consecutive days).
Do Over 3-Day Injuries Need To Be Reported?
Where the workplace injury has resulted in over three-day incapacitations, you’re not required to report it. It is sufficient to record details of injuries in the Accident Book.
• Work-related diseases
• Carcinogens mutagens and biological agents
• A dangerous occurrence (often referred to as near-miss events with
the potential to cause harm). This includes failure of lifting equipment,
pressure systems, contact with overhead electric lines, electrical
incidents causing explosion or fire, escape of biological agents,
irradiation, malfunction of breathing apparatus, failure of life support
equipment and diving equipment, train collisions, explosion or fire, the
release of flammable liquids and gasses, hazardous escape of
substances.
• Where a non-worker (a member of the public) is taken directly to a
hospital. However, where no injury is apparent and hospitalization is
done as a precaution, such incidents do not need to be reported.
• Occupational diseases (industrial diseases likely to have been caused
or made worse by work) These include carpal tunnel syndrome, cramp
in the hand or forearm, occupational dermatitis, hand-arm vibration
syndrome, occupational asthma, and occupational cancer.
• Any disease resulting from occupational exposure to biological agents
• Reportable gas incidents in the workplace
However, there are workplace incidents that you won’t have to report. Examples include mental health issues, acts of non-consensual violence over personal disputes, suicides, and natural hazards which do not arise from a work-related accident.
How soon should you report the Incident?
Reporting workplace incidents is a simple process. It should be done within the stipulated time frames by submitting the appropriate online form via the HSE website. HSE is Britain’s health and safety regulator dedicated to preventing death, injury, and ill-health in workplaces. Time scales for reporting accidents at work vary depending on the severity of the accident and the guide below should be followed.
• Where the accident has resulted in someone’s death or a major injury,
the HSE needs to be notified immediately.
• Specified injuries need to be reported within ten days of the incident.
• Over 7-day injuries need to be reported as soon as practicable within
15 days.
• Work-related diseases should be reported as soon as they are
diagnosed.
• Dangerous occurrences need to be reported immediately.
• Cases of occupational disease must be reported as soon as they are
diagnosed.
Once reported, if the reported incident is serious enough to warrant an investigation, HSE will investigate the matter further. Have you suffered an accident at work? If so, you may well be able to claim compensation from your employer's insurance company.
A work injury can be defined as any accident arising out of or related to work activities that could have been avoided. And if the work injury is not your fault, you’re entitled to reasonable financial compensation. If you’re an employer concerned with RIDDOR, reporting obligations or an employee injured in course of your work, help is at hand. At (name of your law firm), we have a specialist work-accident compensation team of solicitors, who are all fully qualified members of The Law Society Panel of Personal Injury, ex……..
