Health & Safety (Duty of Care)

[Galway Girl]

If you ask your employer to provide a reasonable adjustment to your work station under the DDA and they fail to do anything about it for a number of months. You then have an accident at the workstation that renders you unfit for work - longterm and with a possiblity of not being able to work. Do you have a claim (other than a personal injury claim) under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Who (apart from the Union) would you report it to for an investigation? Someone said to me the Health & Safety Exec.

 

Would reporting it have any bearing on a personal injury claim?

[Guest grizzleguts]

Hi GG, reporting a Hazard usually is done by either reporting it to your superior, or by filing a hazard card (a small slip of paper allowing you to list the hazard), depending on the system your company use.

Firstly if you have had an accident at work, get a local specialist solicitor on the case tomorrow. Make sure the accident is in the accident book, it is a myth that it has to be reproted at the time, and if you have a wittness, you have up to 3 months to enter the accident.

Your type of claim would depend on the type of injury sustained in the accident, and it would be down to the Judge to decide long term problems and compensation.

If you are not receiving the right amount of acknowledgement, 1st make your complaint in writting to the company in question (send it recorded delivery), give the company 14 days from the date they signed (Available from the royal mail web site). if you get no response, you can file a complaint with the Health & safety executive Information about health and safety at work

They will take up your complaint and investigate the incident and the proceedures used by the company in question. Once the Health & safety exec finds in your favour (they will take action against the company) and you will have the relevant evidance to take to a county court, and depending on the action taken by the HSE, you may only need to issue an enforcement order with your local County court.

[Sidewinder]

HSE normally deal with industrial machinery or plant so you wouldn't neccessarily contact themin the first instance. Matters of concern within offices, shops, small businesses etc come under the responsibility of the local Council, through their Environmental Health Officer. Naturally though the defective equipment would have to still be in evidence - generally you would only request an inspection if there is clear evidence of systematic breaches of Health & Safety.

 

In an isolated incident like yours however, where you have an injury at work, providing that it results in at least three days off work, the employer legally has to notify the authorities which will trigger an investigation. This is reportable to HSE in the first instance, and if they haven't reported it your employer is in breach of RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) and you should contact HSE yourself on 0845 3009923.

 

You can also consult ACAS for guidance.

[Guest peed orf]

sorry, I thought that is what I stated !!!!

[Sidewinder]

Where?

[Galway Girl]

Thank you GG and SW for your helpful advice. I have made enquiries with the Council H&S officer and will follow that route. I will let you know how I get on.

 

Peed Orf - I am lost can you expand please.

 

BFN GG