How employers should handle risk assessments to avoid accident at work claims

By Ian Morris | Updated November 29th, 2022

75 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Whilst some accidents can not be foreseen or prevented, the majority of accident at work compensation claims tend to involve scenarios that could and should have been avoided. Accidents at work happen when corners are cut, when staff members are not suitably trained and equipped and when there is no culture of personal responsibility and collective ownership. Claiming compensation after an accident at work is not a great outcome for either the injured employee or the employer. Although a successful claim for compensation after an accident at work can see an employee recover their losses and receive compensation for their injuries, all claimants would rather that they had never had their accident in the first place. Most will have concerns about making a claim for work accident compensation and whether it will affect their employer or job if they do.

Health and safety isn’t a bad thing

With this in mind, all employers should commence a process of reviewing the safety in their workplace, inspect working practices, machine safety and hold regular training and guidance sessions with their staff. Sadly, the phrase ‘health and safety’ is now used in a negative context. It’s almost as if health and safety is now a bad thing. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As a result of the strict health and safety in the workplace regulations, laws and practices within the UK, we have some of the safest workplaces in the world. We know it can seem a waste of time to learn how to properly pick up a box or how to set up your workstation, but making sure things are done properly, safely and correctly will actually save a business money. Reducing accidents reduces cost and enables staff to keep working. Therefore, if you are an employer, or responsible for a team of staff reporting to you, taking a few moments to read this article and then put in to practice what is listed below, is a no brainer.

Risk assessments – how to avoid accidents in the first place

Have you or has your business carried out a reasonable risk assessment for all activities involving staff members? If you haven’t you should. Make a list putting different activities in to groups of danger and then work from that. Risk assessments should be checked annually and amended if new practices are in place. They should be kept in a file, available for staff members and trainers to access and use.

From the assessment you do, you will be able to then identify areas of risk and take adequate precautions. This might include providing a hazard warning sign to staff that clean the floors, and training them to know that they are to place it near wet surfaces for colleagues to see. It could involve a dangerous piece of machinery, making sure that only trained staff use the machine and that regular servicing of the machine and its safety equipment are carried out and records kept.

There are many other things you can do to reduce the risk of an accident happening in the workplace:

Carry out risk assessments and then write guidance policies for each task of work
Check that the policies and risk assessments are relevant and update annually if need be
Carry out daily audits of the workplace. This could be a simple 1-page document listing each item a staff member should check in order to enable reporting of any potential hazards and enact repairs. This should include emergency exits, potential hazards such as torn carpets etc.
Display hazard warning signage
Provide first aid trained staff and first aid equipment
Provide a reporting system for staff to highlight hazards or risks of injury
Ensure all staff are suitably trained for their role and machinery that they are tasked with using.
Provide basic inductions and training for ALL new staff members regarding the workplace, areas of risk etc.
Provide an accident book and ensure that staff understand how to access the same and make reports of accidents and injuries sustained at work to the right people

If you are an employee and think that your company or employer is not doing all that they can to make your workplace as safe as possible, please show them the above. It’s not exhaustive, but it should help your employer benchmark their work practices regarding handling an accident at work and a claim made for compensation.

If an employee is injured in an accident at work, they have legal rights, including being able to make a claim for injury compensation against their employer. Solicitors will pursue claims for personal injury compensation after an accident at work on a no win no fee basis. As an employer, you should refer any claim made to you to your employers liability insurance provider. In the main, they will handle things for you much as the personal injury compensation solicitor will be handling things for the claimant. You should be able to provide copies of machine servicing reports, procedure policies and accident book records. One thing an employer should never do after an accident at work is to try to ignore the claim.

If you have been injured in an accident at work and want to make a claim for personal injury compensation, call us on 01225 430285 or if you prefer, . We know your rights and can help you to get the justice you deserve.

75 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

Hi, we have an employee who is trained in manual handling but decided to move a 30kg storage heater he pulled his back, however he didn’t report it for two days and then went sick.
Should this be classed as Injury at work? or Industrial injury or because of the time delay in reporting treated as just sickness?

It should be treated as a workplace injury as the accident happened at work. In any record you make of this incident, it would be wise to note that it was not reported for 48 hours post injury and that the employee had been previously trained in manual handling.

As long as you have accurate records of staff training and can provide evidence to show that the employee had been given training on safe lifting, you should not have any issues regarding any future liability.

Hi.
I very recently had an accident at work. I was drilling a hole in a door handle when the drill bounced out and penetrated my hand. I informed my office an hour later that I had drilled into my hand but intended to finish my jobs for the day asap and then go and get my hand seen to. This was a bit foolish as I was in agony but I knew the company was short staffed and under pressure. I have since attended A and E and am waiting for an urgent appointment to have my hand operated on to see if I have damaged the tendon or nerve. I have lost the feeling in one finger and movement in the hand causes pain. This will be under general anaesthetic. I hadn’t been provided with PPE such as gloves, goggles and I had to push for them to provide steel toe cap boots. I am 90% sure I haven’t signed any paperwork stating that they will provide me with PPE. I carry out multiple tasks on a day to day basis providing maintenance on social housing. I have never seen any risk assessments relevant to specific tasks. I am going to have to take time off work on basic sap and the doctor has informed me that if I have damaged the tendon I will be off for 8 weeks.

All though I initially thought this was just an accident and no one was to blame, i have began to wonder if I have a case? Thanks for your help

The employer should be ensuring that you are provided with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and that each job is correctly risk assessed to ensure that you are able to work as safely as possible.

In this case it sounds as if your employer has exposed you to a risk of injury that would otherwise have been avoided if you had been given some puncture proof gloves. Therefore, it would be wise to further investigate your prospects of succeeding with a claim.

Hi,

I received forklift training today and the trainer informed us that we are financially responsible for any accidents that we are determined to be at fault. There is nothing in my contract to suggest this. I am concerned whether this is legally sound. Is the company not required to have insurance in place for things like this?

You should of course double check, but the employer should have responsibility for any damage or injury caused whilst you are operating their vehicle and working on their behalf.

My colleague used our company van and knew it was not fit for use. However, he then failed to report it to the employer. Then when I used it the brakes failed! My colleague admitted to these facts during a phone call. Where do i stand with this? Can I take legal action for gross negligence?

UK law requires that an employer ensures that all work equipment (including company vehicles) are appropriately maintained and regularly services to ensure that the equipment or vehicle is fit for purpose and as safe for use as possible.

In this case, your colleagues failure to report the faults to the employer is clearly an act of negligence on their part, but the responsibility for inspecting the vehicle and having a regular regime of inspection and service management rests with the employer. Therefore, if they have failed to carry out their statutory duty to get the vehicle serviced on time, that would be employer negligence and you would have a valid claim for work accident compensation.

We would like to discuss this further with you as you could succeed with this claim against your employer. Please use our a start a claim page or call our team on 01225430285 to get the ball rolling. Our expert staff will then call you for a quick chat about the incident and then get the right specialist Solicitor to act for you.

Good evening! I was deliberately hit in the head at work and I got injured but the employer does not want to give video. What should I do and after what time can he delete the video? Thank you.

To protect your interests you should refer to the CCTV evidence in writing and request that the employer does not delete the evidence. At least then, if it is deleted you can demonstrate that you tried to make sure that it was retained.

I had an accident at work were i was trained properly. I fractured my finger in 2 places and dislocated it. After the accident, I received a final warning and was told I could lose my job. Being employed via an agency, I was scared so I signed their paperwork to admit liability, but I am now suffering with the long term effects of the injury.

I’ve put claim, but wonder if the paperwork I signed admitting liability effect my claim? Do I have a leg to stand on or not ?

If the employer is able to demonstrate that you were appropriately trained to do the work in question and that all relevant health and safety provisions (such as PPE) were in place they will have a strong defence against any claim. Further, in your case the employer has a strong hand in that they have a signed admission of liability from you regarding the accident being your fault. This will make it very hard for your Solicitor to succeed.

Hi I work in a nursery and we had some painting and decorating done where staff had to come in the next day and clean which is not my job. I cleaned the floor which was full of dust and that same day ended up with sore throat the next day I had chest infection and given amoxicillin I was later put on asthma pump, naproxen and sent for X-ray just in case my lungs where inflamed from dust because I was still having chest pains 2 weeks on. I’m now still on a asthma pump something I’ve never been on before and suffering chest pains, can I make a claim against work?

If your employer has failed to adequately protect you from obvious risks to health that have then caused you ill health, you would have the right to make a claim for workplace injury compensation.

In this case, your employer appears to have failed to provide you with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) or training to ensure that you could work as safely as possible. Employers are obliged to ensure that the risks to health are minimised as far as possible and when asking you to work in an extremely dusty environment without providing you with a dust mask and good ventilation, your employer may well have been negligent towards you.

It is important to make sure that your ill health is recorded with your employer as being linked to the work you were asked to do – in an accident book or in writing to your employer. We would be happy to investigate the possibility of you claiming compensation.

I had an injury at work. I was given a couple of days off with pay. When I returned should I have had any risk assessment done to assess my work as I am wearing a sling. I am the only first aider and fire Marshall on site. I don’t believe I should be the only person on site to deal with these issues due to my arm.

Your employer asking you to work as the sole first aider whilst your arm is in a sling is not the most sensible of decisions. If you were to then go on to sustain further injury as a result of this, you could possibly claim compensation for the injury.

With regards to your first injury that lead to you having to wear a sling, we would like to find out more about that incident as you may well have a grounds to make a claim for accident at work compensation.

I had an accident last Sunday we had bad winds so was helping my work mates to pull the outdoor pool cover over the pool as someone was stupid to release it when they should not have. I had the strap wrapped round my hand to keep the cover from blowing then a big hush of wind came to me I felt my body getting pulled and I let go of the strap so suffered a burn and bruising to my hand, but also my arm and neck is painful as I jolted when I let go. Can I claim?

Yes, we think we can help you pursue a claim against your employer. Of course, we need to find out a little more about the process used to cover the pools and the training given to you and colleagues, but we think that there is a valid claim for work accident compensation here.

Hello, I work for a company and 10 weeks ago we had a quiet night, we were asked to clean the back wall down. The supervisor gave us the cleaning solution and cleaning pads and we started cleaning the wall down, within 15mins my fingers were burning, unfortunately they gave me the wrong solution, they gave me corrosive instead, of course this caused the skin on my fingers to burn and blister and becoming really sore, please advise where I stand.

This is a clear breach of your Health & Safety at work by your employer. The handling of chemicals and dangerous substances needs to be done under the COSHH guidelines. When COSHH guidelines are breached and conditions such as Industrial Dermatitis or Chemical Burns are sustained, the injured worker is very likely to succeed with a claim for compensation for such injuries.

Clearly, your Manager would not have meant you any harm but that is not relevant as you have been caused injury and pain as a result of their negligence. You have what would appear to be a viable claim here and I would suggest that you get in touch with us on 01225430285.

I had an injury to my eye at work where a shard of stainless steel penetrated tge cornea of my eye deep enough to almost penetrate the lens.
Since the injury I have required hospital treatment 4 times .
I was wearing safety glasses when it happened but the working conditions was very poor I was on my back drilling upwards into a stainless steel floor fitted into a van.
No ramps used.
I have had time off work for treatment and resting . But I cannot afford the time off because the company will not pay full pay.
Since returning to work I have not been asked for a fit to work certificate . But my main concern is I have been made to work on the same job that caused the injury! .
I have also permanent partial vision loss from this incident.
Where do I stand?

Gethin

Thank you for sharing your workplace injury story. Injuries to the eye are very distressing and extremely uncomfortable and given that you mention an element of permanent damage to your eye sight, I can imagine that you are feeling angry and concerned about this incident and your future.

Although your company have made sure that you wear eye protection, I think that you may still have cause to pursue a claim for compensation against the employer. Of course, we would need to know more before we could advise fully, but the working conditions you cite and the way that the employer was tasking you to perform the duties you were doing when you were injured gives some areas of interest for a possible claim for compensation.

We generally find that a quick telephone conversation enables us to ask the right questions that allows us to properly assess your claim and then make sure that we link you with the right specialist Solicitor to pursue this claim for you.

We look forward to hearing from you.

I run a business that goes into schools and one of my employees got injured in the store cupboard at a school and is now unfit to work.
Please can you advise me on the procedures I need to take?

Although your employee was not injured on your premises and most likely through no fault of your own (I do not see liability attaching to your business), this is an accident at work matter because the employee was injured whilst performing their duties.

Your employee can look to seek compensation for their injuries and losses against the person(s) responsible for the incident in which they were injured. In this case, it would seem (at this stage) that the accident would be the responsibility of the school and that in turn will fall to the Local Educational Authority or Academy Trust that is responsible for the school.

To protect your employees interests, they/you should ensure that a full report of the accident is made within the Schools accident book reporting system. If this was not done at the time, you could contact the school to ask them to do so now and you could also write to them/email to make a report of the incident. Any such report should state what happened, how it happened and what the injuries sustained were. You should also retain a copy of this report within your own accident book system.

Your employee should also ensure that they seek medical treatment for the injuries they sustain in order that the severity of the injuries can be noted on their medical records.

In terms of pursuing a claim for compensation against the relevant party (School), your employee should contact us for assistance.

Had an accident in work just over a week ago now , causing me to have a black eye and face being swollen on one side . All paper work has been done and sent of yet I still haven’t heard from my company , is this acceptable?

There is no obligation for the company to contact you, although it would be very reasonable to at least expect a call to check that you were ok and recovering properly.

The employer should contact you if the accident was serious enough to warrant a health and safety investigation as your statement of events would be vital to the understanding of what happened.

If you would like to pursue a claim for compensation for the injuries sustained, we would be very happy to help you with this.

One of our employees had an accident that occurred outside working hour and at his home.the employee had been working more than 15 years and having a good track record. the accident affected his quality of work at the company. in facts, he is financially heavy in debts and had taken up second job. as employer, what should i do?

I don’t think you need to be concerned or do anything in particular. Perhaps you should record in writing the details you believe to be true – that the accident happened away from work at the employees house. You should record how you know this too.

If i make an accident claim and it is unsuccessful, is my employer allowed to dismiss me?

Simon

Great question – thanks for asking it! The most common ‘worries’ we encounter with regards to the thoughts of people considering making a claim for compensation, are those that relate to claiming compensation after an accident at work.

Understandably, people injured at work worry that making a claim against their employer could lead to an uncomfortable atmosphere at work or even that making a claim will cost them their job.

To answer your question, the answer is no! Whether or not a claim for compensation after an accident at work succeeds or fails, an employer has no legal right to terminate the employment of the claimant on the basis of their making a claim. The only thing that could lead to an employer dismissing an employee after a claim was made would be if the claim was made on a fraudulent basis. Such an act would be both gross misconduct and also a criminal matter and in this case, an employer would have every right to terminate the employment of the individual concerned.

However, in the case of a genuine accident at work, the employee is perfectly entitled to make a claim. The outcome of the claim will only go in their favour if the employer is found to have acted negligently and therefore responsible for the injuries.

My work are saying that me making a claim against them will cause me problems, can they use this as a way to sack me? I feel I’m being made to feel bad for something they could have avoided.

James

Thank you for sharing your situation. There is a common concern held by nearly all of the accident at work claimants that contact us for help – that making a claim against their employer will cost them their job or jeopardise their colleagues future. Legally, any person who is the victim of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence has a right to pursue a claim for compensation. The outcome of the claim will depend on whether or not the organisation/business or people against whom you are making your claim are forced to accept liability.

In your case, it is clear that your employer is putting pressure on you not to make a claim. This is not legal and they have no right to act in this way. I am not qualified to advise you on employment law, but if you have worked for the employer for the sufficient time to clear the legal requirement, they cannot sack or dismiss you simply because you have pursued a claim for compensation.

However, some employers do act in an unscrupulous way and we often find that it is the smaller businesses that put heavy pressure on injured employees not to make a claim. We cannot guarantee that making a claim won’t cost you your job as we cannot be sure how your employer will behave.

What I would say is that if you have been injured at work and required medical treatment, making a claim for accident at work compensation will allow you the prospect of obtaining a fair compensation settlement to cover the pain and discomfort caused to you by your injuries and would also allow you to reclaim any lost income by way of a special damages claim.

Whether or not you opt to pursue a claim is down to you. However, if you are unable or have been unable to work due to the injuries you have sustained in the accident at work and your employer is not prepared to pay you your usual wages whilst you are unable to work, you will be heavily out of pocket. if this is the case, you may well have no choice other than to pursue a claim for workplace accident compensation. In any event, it sounds like you are not working for a decent responsible employer and I can’t see how they have any right to pressure you for loyalty if they act in the way that they have. Employers have employer liability insurance in place to cover events such as accidents at work and therefore any claim for compensation made by you would be against this insurance and not against the employer directly, so it would not harm the employer, business or colleagues in anyway if you opted to pursue a claim.

I would suggest that you contact us so that we can discuss your situation in greater depth and get an understanding of what happened and who you work for. We can then advise as to whether or not we feel you have a valid claim for accident at work compensation and help you to understand your rights. You can make contact with us by calling 01225430285 or by responding to the email that I have sent you.

I hope that this information is helpful to you and we look forward to hearing from you and offering help.

Yours sincerely

Ian Morris

Health and safety isn’t a bad thing

Risk assessments – how to avoid accidents in the first place

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