Anyone claimed compensation against their employer?

[NoNameNoNumber]

Assume you got injured pretty bad, long term scarring, LTI etc etc and then 3 months later more guys get injured in a very similar way on the same machine. Nothing has actually changed and the answer so far seems to be more PPE.
Would you be looking to claim compensation against your employer?

I'd speak to the Union rep but he's unapproachable (ex-pit) and a full scale ****

I'm completely against the whole compensation entitlement culture but
a) I was hurt pretty bad and it wasn't my fault
b) it has affected me more than I'd like to admit, impacting on my work
c) the way it has happened to two more experienced guys makes me feel sick.

Highlights just how dangerous industry is.

Any first hand experiences? Thoughts and/or advice?

 

[ivrytwr3]

Are you a member of your own union? If not, i think you'll have to speak to him as that's his job.

Make sure you have filled the accident book in and i would have no hesitation in filing a claim, maybe a class action if more than one?

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Unite yes.

My incident was HSE reportable. Lost time injury and all that as I was signed off work. The other guys just hurt this weekend are still in hospital.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Chartered H&S professional, at your service.

Dealt with literally thousands of these claims in my career. To claim compensation, you’ll need to prove negligence which should be easy enough.

1) they owed you a duty of care (obvious)
2) they failed in their duty due to acts/omissions
3) you suffered a loss as a result of the incident

Now, you say you suffered a lost time incident. How many days excluding the day of the incident did you have off (including weekends)? If over 7 days then that’s reportable.

Likewise, the incident involving your colleague will be RIDDOR reportable if he’s had to stay overnight in a hospital or broken bones (not including fingers or toes), so you can enquire if they’ve reported it to the HSE. Failure to do that is illegal and should ring major alarm bells.

PPE is the last line of defence and one of the least effective in the hierarchy of control. I’d say that I’d be surprised if the company is relying on that to solve the issue but I’d be lying... it’s often cheap and easy to plaster over the cracks, so to speak.

In a nutshell, you’ve got a good case and you should take it up with a personal injury solicitor who could win this with their eyes closed. Use the union to put pressure on the employer about the repeat incident, control measures and see if they’ve been reporting their numbers correctly.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Hi @EVH, thank you for your reply
22 days before I returned to work.
Both incidents are burns. Steam/syrup burns. 2nd degree to 2-3% TBSA (left forearm and hand)
Essentially we have a process that has been automated. It seems the automation isn't allowing the residual syrup/condensate to drain from the machine whilst off line and this then builds up causing blockages and manual intervention from the shift mech (me) is required.
Knee jerk reaction has been to install condensate drains so you can see it is free of blockages. This shows nothing though as you cannot prove the line is devoid of pressure 100% as a blockage of the condensate drain will look no different to how it would if it was fully drained and depressurised. So now it's full chemical suit and visor to go near it.
How would we show or prove negligence?

Thanks again for your input.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

You’ve already proven it, because you’ve satisfied the three bullet points above

Any solicitor that specialises in workplace injury claims could win the case, but realistically they’d expect to take a cut for writing a standard letter and I’d be tempted to write to the employer directly.

That said, most employers roll over at the sight of a legal letter, in my experience and I’ve worked for some of the largest organisations in the UK.

You say in the last post that they’ve tried to solve the issue with PPE but then in the latest post that they’ve automated the process. Both are controls (albeit one is better than the other), so it sounds like you may be hard pressed going down that route.

The fact that you’ve had a RIDDOR reportable incident and a colleague has also injured themselves in a similar matter should be all the evident you need that they’ve failed in their duty. If you have a union I’d be asking them to peruse what the employer plans to do to prevent a recurrence.

Your solicitor will likely explore these lines of enquiry:

1. Evidence of signed risk assessments (to prove you had been informed of the risk)
2. Management of change / process modification proposals
3. Training / competence records for you
4. Content of COSHH training materials you’ve received
5. Any investigation findings from previous incidents
6. Extent of your injuries and any loss you’ve incurred (psychological and physical)
7. Proof the incidents have been reported to HSE under RIDDOR

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

The process was automated a year or so ago AFAIK, the additional PPE controls are new.

Thanks once again.
Any particular solicitors you might recommend?

 

[Deleted member 651465]

The process was automated a year or so ago AFAIK, the additional PPE controls are new.

Thanks once again.
Any particular solicitors you might recommend?

Sorry, have been away from home and just seen this.

Any local solicitor who claims to have specialism in occupational injury/compensation will be fine. Give a few a call and ask about their experiences, you’ll find they often do a no-commitment meeting to hear your story.

 

[Snaggle]

Make sure its a decent payout as unlikley to keep yer job after it

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Sorry, have been away from home and just seen this.

Any local solicitor who claims to have specialism in occupational injury/compensation will be fine. Give a few a call and ask about their experiences, you’ll find they often do a no-commitment meeting to hear your story.

Thanks, I'm waiting for the union rep to come back off the sick. See what his opinion is.

Make sure its a decent payout as unlikley to keep yer job after it

Got anything to base that on?
On what grounds could I possibly lose my job?

 

[Deleted member 651465]

None, in fact it would be constructive dismissal if they forced you out.

However, there is always a chance that a smaller employer would take it personally and “mark your card” so to speak.

I’ve seen businesses get very upset by it and others pay out without an issue or mention of it. Ultimately, you have a right to be safe at work and they have a duty to provide a safe workplace. They haven’t, ergo you’re entitled to some money so it’s up to you if you proceed really.

 

[Hotwired]

Ehh... I dunno about only getting grief in small companies.

Someone I know got a chemical injury and tried to claim against a large employer. From then on their work got doubled checked by management and got disciplinaries for anything lacking until he quit. This same company tolerates a significant range of competence in employees on a daily basis so it wasn't anything to do with the work, just him.

His claim didn't get anywhere but somewhere up the ladder someone decided he was no longer welcome.

I wouldn't bother unless my claim was solid and I'd also leave before I could find out how unhappy it made them.