Law - workplace accidents
The
Law
All employers have a basic legal duty to take reasonable care for the safety of
their workers. If an employee has an accident and is injured then an employer
can be held responsible for that accident if it can be proved that the employer
is negligent.
We can help with claims for
industrial disease compensation or other work related matters

Employer's duty to
take reasonable care
An employer’s duty to take reasonable care can be split into four main
obligations. These are to provide:
a Safe equipment and machinery.
b Safe and competent work mates.
c A safe system of work.
d A safe place of work.
The above duties exist in common law and are laws that have been created and
developed over the years by decisions of judges in particular Court cases.
However a framework of statutory legislation and laws created by parliament also
cover the above duties and provide protection to employees.

Safe equipment and
machinery
Employers must provide safe equipment
and machinery. This means that tools, machines and equipment used by employees
must be reasonably safe and adequate for the purpose for which they were
intended. This also means the employers must provide safe working premises. For
example, if the floor is slippery or uneven the employers can be held liable if
they knew of the defect or ought to have known of it.
Employers have a duty to take
precautions where necessary to avoid electrical failure. A regular system of
maintenance and inspection is obligatory and all businesses should conduct
regular PAT testing to ensure
employee or public safety is maximised.
Under the Employers Liability
(Defective Equipment) Act 1969 employers will still be held liable to the
employee for providing equipment that was made and manufactured in a negligent
manner by another company. This avoids the potential problems of an employee
trying to sue the manufacturer who may well be abroad or have gone out of
business.

Safe and competent
work colleagues
Employers are directly responsible for
the negligence of their employees. If one employee is negligent and injures
another employee, the injured employee can sue the employee and claim
compensation. Employers must take reasonable care when selecting and training
their workforce. They must give proper information, instructions and training to
ensure that their employees carry out their work in an environment that is safe
to everybody.

A safe system of work
Employers must have safe systems of work in place. This duty forces employers to
introduce safe systems of work and ensure that the systems are maintained and
modified as necessary. This includes areas such as the physical layout of work,
the sequence in which the work is to be done, the giving of warnings and
notices, providing information and training, and establishing safe working
conditions.
If employers fail to ensure that a safe system is in use and an employee then
has an accident as a result the employers will be held responsible and will have
to pay the employee compensation.

A safe place of work
An employer must provide a safe place of work. This is a general duty that often
overlaps with the others. There are various laws created by parliament that
provide protection in this area.

Health and Safety
executive
Employers are under a duty to report to the Health and Safety Executive any
accident that involves major injury or death. These include fractures,
amputations, or injuries that involve the injured person being hospitalised for
more than 24 hours. Also any major incident such as explosions collapse of
equipment etc must be reported. The report must be made immediately and
confirmed in writing within 7 days.
Email: info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk
Telephone on 0113 268 8898 to
speak to a specialist solicitor. Or if you are calling from outside the area,
use lo-call 0845 890 2277. We are open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm.
We look forward to working with you as
a Winning Partnership.
 

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