Industrial injury compensation claims are bad news for everybody. The injured employee has to deal with the pain and inconvenience of an injury – in severe cases their life or long-term health may even be threatened. The employer is left with having to pay out a large sum of money following an industrial injury compensation claim and may even be undergoing an investigation by the regulatory authorities.
It is preferable for industrial accidents to not happen in the first place and for industrial injury compensation claims to be avoided all together.
Preventing Industrial Injury Compensation Claims
The prevention of industrial accidents is not that complicated. Most health and safety rules and regulations are commonsense. All that is required is a bit of forward planning and careful thought.
The concept that underpins most health and safety legislation is called risk assessment. As the name suggests this is just an assessment of the risk. It is not just a paper exercise – although the result of the risk assessment should be recorded so that they can be shared with colleagues and indicates that a risk assessment has been completed.
What goes Wrong with Risk Assessments?
Most employers now make at least an attempt at risk assessments but accidents still occur. In some cases this is because the risk assessment has not been evaluated. No one has sat down and looked at the health and safety procedures in the workplace to see if they are actually working.
Let’s take a cleaning task as an example. It involves using dangerous chemicals and so workers should be provided with protective gloves. However, it is not that simple. The risk assessment should consider:
- · Is there a constant supply of gloves available?
- · Who should order them?
- · What do workers do when they run out?
- · What should workers do when they get damaged?
- · Does anyone inspect the gloves for signs of wear and tear?
- · Are the protective gloves suitable for use with all the chemicals in the workplace?
- · Is it possible to do the job when you’ve got the gloves on?
- · Are any workers allergic to the gloves – for example, a latex allergy?
- · Do the gloves cover all of the parts of the arm that could be exposed to the chemical?
What if an Industrial Accident has not been Prevented?
If an industrial accident has not been prevented then the worker has the right to make an industrial injury compensation claim. This is where the injured employee claims a sum of money from the person who was at fault. The person who was at fault is often the employer and they are found to be at fault because some health and safety rule or guidance has not been adhered to.
There are law firms like Accident Advice Helpline that exist specifically to help unfortunate workers who are in this situation. They will provide the legal support that the worker needs to pursue a successful claim and support them through every stage of the process.
Author bio: Guest blog written by Alice with http://www.accidentadvicehelpline.co.uk/. Consider our site to find more about industrial injury work related information, specifically for tips on preventing industrial accidents in the workplace
