It’s more common than you think to have an accident at work claim. When it comes to your place of business, it should be an environment where you feel safe enough to do your job. No matter what your profession is, it is your employer’s job to ensure you are comfortable enough to bring out the best of your abilities. Unfortunately, we can only do so much to prevent an accident. Accidents in the work place can happen, therefore whilst you are in your place of employment, it is your employer’s legal duty to keep you as safe as possible.
Whilst most employers will be sensible and train their employees appropriately in health and safety measures of the work place, if an accident does happen, you need to make sure that you get statutory sick pay (SSP) whilst you are on the mend. However, sometimes accidents happen that have life changing results.
Today we are going to discuss an incident that occurred in Manchester and how we could of handled it if the claimant came to us. You may also want to consider what you would have done if you were placed in a similar position.
The Workplace Accident Case Study: Fast Food Chef
The Situation:
The staff were cleaning up after a busy Friday nights trading at a fast food outlet.
The cook was walking back to the kitchen from the pot wash area over a floor that had just been wet mopped by another employee. As he walked past the deep fat fryer, the cook suddenly slipped on the still damp floor. He instinctively reached out to try and break his fall, pulling over the electric deep fat fryer in his panic. The fryer toppled over, spilling its entire contents, 35 litres of boiling hot oil, onto the cook and the floor.
As the oil came into contact with the water residue on the floor, thick black smoke was produced, which set off the smoke alarms, adding to the extremely frightening situation. Surrounded in hot oil, the cook couldn’t get up from the floor. Each time he tried he slipped back. Eventually the trainee assistant manager succeeded in sliding him out of the spilt oil, burning his own hands in the process.
The cook suffered life changing burns to his ankles, legs, buttocks, chest and needed skin grafts.
Another employee received treatment for burns to her leg and ankle, again needing skin grafts.
The Outcome:
The company were prosecuted by Manchester City Council and fined £60,000 after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences and ordered to pay costs of £16,000.
Gowing Law Solicitors: Our Observation about this Accident
Now, we would say that this is quite a dramatic situation and isn’t the sort of thing that happens every day. Most of the incidents that occur may affect one or more people, depending on the environment that they work in and how busy their work environment usually is.
When you work in a busy environment, such as a fast-food restaurant, it is important to keep the work space as clean and un-cluttered as possible. One of the first things that we would consider would be “Was this accident preventable?” So, if this was your claim, we would have asked you to describe whether you knew the policies on how to keep the area clean, health and safety policies, or whether or not you had any information on how you were meant to act in the work place. Considering how high the pay out, it was clear that there could have been a preventative measure put in place. To put it simple:
A wet floor sign could have been put up to warn the cook of the wet floor.
However, as there was clearly no wet floor signs in place then this meant that this could have been a preventable accident in the work place. Clearly, those who were injured were entitled to a large form of compensation as they were not enough preventative measures put in place to protect the staff.
If you were in a similar situation, you would most likely be paid from an employer’s liability insurance if you won the case. However, you also need to consider the emotional damages that come along with any physical. These claimants were clearly traumatized and needed the support of their company to recover. This was before they were even able to think about getting back to work. It is the job of the solicitor to assess the situation and consider the amount of money owed from a work place accident. If it was a smaller wound, then the claimants may have been given less, but due to the severity it was obvious that they were due compensation.
How we handle an accident at work claim
No matter how bad your injury has been at work, if it has affected your life then you deserve compensation. The Labour Force Survey has estimated that over 620, 000 work place accidents happen every year. The first thing we would have done is have our specialized employers liability team look into the case.
From there, we would advise you on how you could claim compensation for your accident. All of our cases are no win, no fee. Therefore, you will always end up on top. Just make sure all of our lawyers have the information they need to win your case. You can also talk to our employer liability solicitors about your case for free. We are more than happy to advise you on how to move forward. Do not be scared of your employer. Instead, get the money you are entitled to with your claim.
Check out our accident at work claim page now!
Contact Gowing Law Solicitors now
Gowing Law Solicitors’ goal is to handle your accident at work claim quickly and efficiently. That way you can get the funds you need to rebuild your life. Fill out the contact form and we’ll contact you shortly to set up a consultation. You can also call us at 0161 808 8888 to talk to one of the Team today.
