Accident Book Reports – What To Do If Your Employer Won’t Record Your Injury At Work

By Ian Morris | Updated November 29th, 2022

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

When someone is injured in an accident at work, employers have certain responsibilities that they are obliged to follow. One of these requirements is to ensure that details of any incident, no matter how minor, are recorded within an accident book or accident recording system. In cases of serious injuries, the employer also has a responsibility to report the accident via RIDDOR to the Health and Safety Executive. All accidents at work must be reported to RIDDOR where the injured employee is caused to be away from work, or left unable to work as normal, for seven consecutive days or more because of the injuries that they have sustained. The report must be made within 15 days of the accident.

The vast majority of employers care about their staff and site visitors. Good employers take health and safety regulations seriously, don’t try to get in the way of people being treated fairly and provide a safe working environment to their staff. They will carry out regular safety training for their staff, and one of the things that they should do is make sure that all staff understand how to record the details of any accidents within the employers accident book.

Employers that avoid accident book reporting

Unfortunately, there remains some less impressive employers out there who treat staff as a disposable asset and fail to uphold their duty of care towards health and safety at work. Remember, employers have a legal responsibility to ensure that all workers have a safe and secure working environment where the risks of injury are avoided as much as possible.

Bad employers will avoid safety training, cut corners with regards to providing the right tools, expect workers to use dangerous machinery that is not maintained, and unsurprisingly don’t provide accident books. In the worst cases, really bad employers will even refuse to acknowledge that any accidents have happened in their workplace. If this has happened to you, we suggest that you contact us immediately. In these circumstances you need expert advice and support. You can still succeed with a claim against such an employer, but it will be important to move quickly to ensure that the strength of any claim you may wish to make is not unduly affected.

What to do if you can’t use the accident book

At Direct2Compensation we can help you to understand your rights after an injury at work and how to make sure you have done everything possible to provide the evidence to support your claim. If your employer won’t let you see or use the accident book, you can take the following actions to help you claim compensation:

Get witnesses: You can ask colleagues and co-workers if they would be willing to act as witnesses. Whilst this is obviously a difficult thing for them to do, we’ve found that many people who are sick of the employer neglecting their safety at work are more than willing to help.
Take photographs: You can take photographs of hazards at work, such as faulty machinery or inadequate work practices.
Send a recorded delivery letter: Another good thing to do is to send a letter to the registered office of the workplace listing what happened to you, the date, the cause and the injuries. Send this letter by recorded, signed for mail and retain a copy of the letter and your receipt and proof of postage.
Find a specialist solicitor: You can then provide all this to your solicitor to help them succeed with your claim for personal injury compensation.

It is important that an injured employee is aware of what they should do next after a work-related injury. Some things will be obvious, such as getting medical treatment, but many people don’t know their rights after an accident at work, or what they should do to make sure that the incident is properly recorded and that the right people have been informed.

It is never unethical to pursue a genuine claim for personal injury compensation, especially when you are dealing with bad employers who fail to act ethically and responsibly. Health and safety is vital in the workplace and by making a claim after an accident at work, you could be helping to make sure that the employers change their ways and that colleagues don’t suffer the same fate.

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

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

My partner is a delivery driver for a furniture company. Towards the end of April 2018 he suffered a head injury at work. Whilst lifting the rear shutters of the work van a large wardrobe door fell and hit him on the right side of his head. The rope ties which held the furniture in place in the rear had snapped/ripped. He was bleeding, vomitting, dizziness and blurred vision, he was confused not realising where he is for 20 to 30 minutes. It was recorded in the Work Accident Incident Report Book on the same day by a Supervisor. Gradually the symptoms have returned and we have been to our GP and Hospital. Today my partner asked to see the Accident Incident Report Book and to have a copy of the Incident Report. First they refused to show and give, then they gave the book but my partners incident has been ripped out of the book.

I don’t know what to do, I am noticing so many changes in him and it’s all out of character and it has really become worrying. We have a doctors appointment booked and he is being referred for CT Head Scan.

What should we do?

The consequences of a head injury at work can be very serious, with behavioural changes commonly listed as one of the most difficult issues caused in such an incident.

It sounds as if your Partner needs expert advise and support of a specialist Solicitor in this matter and this is something we would be happy to help with. On face value, it seems that he would have a valid claim against his employer for workplace injury compensation and we would like to take this further for him.

If your partner wants to discuss his rights with us, he is free to liaise with us with no obligation and he may have concerns about claiming against his employer – something we are used to discussing with people who have been injured at work.

I injured my back at work by lifting flat packs ( furniture) and pushing washing machines around. Usuallly should be 2 people lifting if its too heavy but no one at work follows the manual handling/healthsafety regulations . Now i suffer of slip disc , trapped nerve and facet joint disease. On my shift I could feel a little click in my lower back but didn’t not take it serious. But on the next two days it gradually got worse and had to see my Dr. I been off 4 weeks and been send for MRI scan which my symptoms are stated already above. Now my question is i couldn’t come into work to report it but as my sister gone to hand in my skin notes she did report it to the manager but I do not believe that he did report about my injury. What can I do because I am really worried.

If your employer failed to provide you with adequate manual handling training or the correct equipment to lift and move items of weight safely, you would have a valid claim for accident at work compensation and we would be happy to help you start a claim with our specialist injury compensation Solicitors.

Your employer is clearly aware of your injury and absence from work but you are correct in that they may not have recorded the details of your injury correctly. In order to make sure that your employer is put on notice and has a proper record of the injury, you should put your own report to them in writing – by email or via recorded delivery (retain a copy for your own records) outlining what happened and how.

I asked him if he added it in the accident book. At first he was acting dumb and said if i believe it happened at work then we could do it. Then i emailed him about it if i could have a copy of my report. He said he wants a Dr’s letter because I can not take a report letter outside the company because is personal data protection and also by law I can not take it . So I am really confused by that.

I fell in our work’s carpark and fractured my wrist, I am currently off work, I have asked management 3 times if they have put it in the accident book and at this time it hasn’t when I ask about it they keep dodging the subject, this happened on the 3rd of June, and 3 days later the carpark was closed off and getting re tarred, and it was a pothole that caused my accident. I am wondering why the management are not willing to tell me why it has not been put in the accident book.

It is frustrating to read that your employer will not let you view the accident book entry. Unfortunately, there is no obligation for an employer to disclose this to you – although most good employers have no issue with letting people see the accident book.

I would be happy to discuss your accident in greater detail so that you can better understand what options you may have with regards to taking further action.

Hi, I had an accident at work driving a forklift truck, I hit a pot hole which jarred my back and caused quite a lot of pain, I have asked my Employers for a copy of the Accident report, and they are refusing to give me a copy, can they do this?

There is no obligation for an employer to allow workers to view the contents of an accident book or an accident report form. Most employers are happy to allow workers access to a copy of accident books and allow them to view what has been noted following an accident at work.

In your situation, I can imagine that you are feeling frustrated by the attitude of the employer and given that they are refusing you access to the report, it is understandable that you may be questioning whether or not they are being honest in terms of what they have recorded. With this in mind, it may be wise to protect your interests and ensure that an honest report of the event and your injuries is on record. To this end, I would advise two things.

Firstly, I would take a photograph of the pothole that you hit whilst driving the forklift. This will protect your interests going forward if the area is repaired and the hazard removed.
Second, I would email or write to your employer outlining that due to their refusal to allow you to see what has been recorded that you wish to put on record your version of events. You should state what happened and where and how you were injured. If the pothole was unmarked with no warning or sign, you should draw attention to that issue and also state how your injury is affecting you. You could also provide a photograph of the pothole in question to corroborate your report.

We have a number of identical forklift claims in process at the moment and have succeeded with claims of the same cause many time previously. Indeed, we have recently succeeded with a claim for a client who was an FLT operator at a large haulage site and within the site there were two sections of yard that were at slightly different heights. The FLT operator had complained that to drop the couple of inches from one pad of concrete to the next was causing pain and also presented a health and safety risk, yet the employer ignored his concerns. He later sustained a slipped disc as a result of driving across the change in height of the two concrete pads and was left unable to work for a lengthy period.

We would be very happy to assist you further with regards to a claim for compensation for the injury you have sustained at work. Of course, you may not be minded to pursue a claim and that is fine. However, if you would like further advice or wish to discuss your situation further so that you better understand your rights and options with regards to a possible claim, please contact me.

My brother in law had a nasty fall of a roof onto the scaffolding ! He fell on a drill and fractured two ribs. He since has been off work for a week to recover.
His employer is refusing to log the incident in the accident book.
He also refuses to provide him with a contract of employment.
I find this unacceptable as an employer myself.
Please advise what he should do legally.

Hi, I am very sorry to hear about your Brother-in-Law’s accident. His employer is breaching health and safety guidelines by refusing to record the details of the accident correctly.

I would suggest that the your Brother-in-Law writes to the employer (email or recorded delivery) to request that they record the details within an accident book or incident log and that in that letter/email, that he outlines what happened, what injuries he has sustained and note any obvious health and safety issues that lead to our could have prevented his accident.

We would be happy to help him pursue a claim for compensation against his employer.

I got injured at work slipped out off the step of my truck and hurt my knee, employer is refusing to sign a injury report and said not to tell the doctor when I go that it happened at work cause It will screw up their triff score? What are my legal rights here what can I do ?

In the UK, you have the right to require your employer to complete an accident report and also to inform your Doctor as to how the injury occurred. Your employers concerns are irrelevant in respect of your rights and best interests.

Whether or not you could hold the employer liable would depend on the training provided by your employer, whether there were any faults with the step or if the employer had failed to provide you with the correct equipment and clothing etc.

I hope this helps.

I had a fall 5 weeks ago on a wet floor. I have requested on many occasions that my accident be logged in the accident book and that I need a copy. I’m not getting anywhere with getting a copy of it. I have rang the company, sent a recorded letter and left many messages to be contacted. I’m getting ignored, what can I do?

You don’t need to worry too much about getting a copy of the accident book record, the key thing to do is to make sure that it has been recorded. You have done everything that anyone could reasonably expect you to do in terms of reporting your accident. Indeed, the fact that you have sent the company a letter by recorded delivery to ensure that the details of your accident are on record means that you can prove that the company has been made aware of your accident.

I had an accident at work but could not go into work to fill out the accident report. i rang my manager to tell her the details over the phone which she said would be filled out on daytex. I keep asking for a copy but have still not got one it has been 6 months now, how do I get a copy, because I will need to make a claim sometime soon.

Hi, I can appreciate that the lack of provision of a copy of the incident report has been frustrating you. However, with regards to making a claim for compensation after an accident at work, it is not vital that you personally have a copy of the accident book/incident record as our specialist solicitors will be able to obtain this during the processing of your claim. The most important thing is that there is an accident record in existence and it sounds as if there is in your case.

You could contact your HR department and request confirmation that such a record was made by your Manager. If they confirm that there was, you needn’t worry further and we could make arrangements to start your claim for injury compensation as soon as you are ready. If your employers HR department indicate that there was no record made, you should immediately start a grievance process with them outlining what your Manager had said to you and you should request that an accident record is made immediately (during which you should ensure that it is accurate and reflects the cause of the accident, the injuries and witness information).

Can an employer refuse an employee a copy of a recorded accident book entry?

Whether or not your employer will allow you/employees access to view copies or make entries in to accident books depends on the policies employed by that company.

All employers should keep records relating to workplace accidents and the most common way of doing so is via an accident book or incident reporting system. In many cases, the individual involved in an accident will not be the person who records the details as it is commonplace for a member of Management of HR staff who will make an entry based on statements from the person injured and those who witnessed the accident.

In your case, it sounds like an incident/accident book entry has been made and you are simply requesting a copy of this record or the right to view what information is contained within the report. If your employer is refusing you access to this, you need to find out if this is the company policy or if it is just that your individual Manager is refusing you access to the record. You should contact your HR department and ask to see a copy of the policy relating to accident book records and your access to them.

If you are not being allowed access to view the record, this could well be a breach of your personal information. Employers are governed Data Protection regulations and it could be that the information they have on record relating to an incident in which you were injured is incorrect. If you are not allowed to view this and have it corrected, they have breached your privacy rights. In this case, you could consider contacting the Information Commissioners Office to request assistance and make a complaint.

It is not always the case that employers will allow staff members to have a copy of an accident book entry, but they should be allowing you to view the same.

When it comes to claiming personal injury compensation after an accident at work, you do not need to personally have a copy of an accident book entry. The important thing is that an entry or record has been made. Most of our accident at work compensation claimants do not have a copy of their accident book entry, but when our specialist solicitors contact our claimants employers, they are able to provide the relevant proof of authority to obtain a copy for the claimant.

Hi, very recently I’ve had an accident in work where the steps I was working on gave way and my leg went through the gap eventually damaging my testicles. ( painful to say least ). Hospital visits confirm I have damaged veins and as a result cysts have appeared. Anyhow I have since left the workplace and requested a copy of the accident as it was reported in book but my ex boss is refusing to send me a copy. I have photo graphic evidence of the steps I was working on , have witnesses but am unclear what I can do to receive copy of accident report – any advice very helpful. Thank you.

Employers that avoid accident book reporting

What to do if you can’t use the accident book

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