Know When and Why to File For Compensation in UK for A Mishap at Work

by James Ware on November 2, 2012

Professional negligence can be of various kinds, all of them harmful to a certain extent. While some are more harmful than the others, the gravity of the callousness remains the same. This is because no matter how small or how big, accidents at work are always traumatic. An employee puts a lot of faith in his workplace, being assured in the knowledge that this is one place where nothing can harm him. Being involved in a mishap in that very place deeply shakes the sense of security, not to mention the trust in one’s employer.

What Constitutes a Workplace Hazard?

The workplace is not restricted to the office you go to or the factory you attend. It is, in essence, anything and any place that requires your attendance and attention for the purpose of your job. So, while a bank edifice is the workplace of a cashier, the factory labour can face an accident at work in the mill. Similarly, the construction site is the office of the builder, the architect and the engineer alike, and the airplane the office of the pilot and the cabin crew. Even a vehicle can qualify as a place of work; the driver of the car that picks up and drops off the employees of an organisation can call the vehicle his office. Even your own car can qualify as a temporary place of work if you are driving it to someplace for the purpose of fulfilling some professional duty.

Scope of the Workplace Injury

In light of the above-mentioned information, the scope for filing an accident at work claim grows pretty wide and far-fetched; a mishap occurring somewhere you are visiting on business purposes also qualifies as a workplace injury. For instance, if the injury is inflicted in the hotel booked by your employers for your brief residence, you can file for a compensation for negligence on the employer’s part in checking the service. On the other hand, it is also an act of negligence if an accident occurred because the employer had failed to provide its employee with adequate training when the job demanded the expertise that hands-on training can impart. Moreover, failing to provide safety measures also qualify as professional negligence; an inadequately working fire escape or no provision of first aid might lead to disastrous consequences.

The Most Dangerous Workplace Injuries

Workplace accidents are not restricted to slip or trip injuries. Extremely high risk environments can also lead to terrible injuries and even death, something that is known to occur with people operating heavy and dangerous machinery, like in an industry or a factory. These accidents are also known to occur in contrition sites. The scope of such catastrophes extends to laboratories as well, since explosions and spilling of corrosive substances can cause irreparable damage to the people working there.

Military and army claims for compensation are also pretty common. It must be kept in mind that being injured in the war front doesn’t qualify so much as a workplace injury as an occupational hazard; however, charges of negligence can be brought against the Ministry of Defence if the equipment and ammunitions provided are less than excellently working.

James Ware
Solicitor by profession! Writer/Editor/Blogger at ULaw Online! Law/Legal areas are my expertise and I just love to write articles and blogs on related topics.

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