Watch Your Step: Prevent Personal Injury In The Workplace

Regardless of whether an employee in the UK operates on a full-time, part-time, temporary or permanent basis, it is a fact that they are entitled to carry out their job in a safe and healthy environment. However, despite the fact that all employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees, accidents can and do happen.

There are several mitigating factors which can cause workplace accidents, ranging from the use of unsuitable or defective equipment, lack of training, workplace hazards and even the negligence of other employees among others, and personal injury at work can have a dramatic effect, not only on the individual, but also in the workplace and the economy. Indeed, statistics issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) covering the period 2007/2008 suggested that businesses lost 34 million working days overall – an average of 1.4 days for each worker, and an annual bill of around £6 million. Furthermore, it was suggested that over 2 million people suffered from a work-related illness, while 229 workers sadly lost their lives while at work.

For employers, it is therefore vitally important that they conduct regular risk assessments in order to ensure their place of business is both suitable and safe for employees and visitors alike. This involves the employer examining the working practice, equipment and areas of the workplace where accidents are most likely to occur and take into account any potential risks that may affect employees, such as uneven flooring, trailing cables or defective equipment. The end purpose of a risk assessment is to put into practice reasonable safety precautions in order to benefit employees while minimising risk. These can be simple methods, such as installing ergonomic keyboards and mice on company PCs to supplying safety ladders for hard-to-reach shelving areas to improving accessibility for disabled employees, among many other precautions.

Once a risk assessment has been completed, a good employer will liase with their employees in order to implement plans for prevention, such as introducing proper training to ensure employees know how to handle workplace equipment; or to impart the knowledge required for employees to identify potential risks around the workplace and take action to remove the hazard, or report it. Risk assessments should be carried out at regular intervals, and records of all assessments should be kept and archived, with prevention plans regularly reviewed to account for changes in the workplace

However, despite an employer’s precautions, if a person is unfortunate enough to suffer a workplace-related personal injury, and there is sufficient belief that the employer has been negligent with regards to workplace health and safety, then the injured party may have cause to make a claim for compensation. In these cases, it is always a good idea to seek prompt legal advice from a specialist solicitor who can advise on the chances of success and next steps. In most cases, medical advice may require to be sought, but this isn’t usually necessary to begin the claims procedure, while it is always advisable to record as much information surrounding the accident as possible, such as photographs, and also ensure that an official entry of the accident is made in any company accident book.

Personal injuries at work are no laughing matter, especially for the unfortunate employee involved, and a simple fall at work can lead to broken bones and mobility problems in later life. In fact, more than half of major workplace injuries occur as a result of slips or falls at work and account for over 11,000 injuries each year. That’s why regardless of whether one is an employer or an employee, it’s important to take health and safety around the workplace seriously, and not become another statistic.