Work accident advice

phrases

phrases

phrases

Associate
Joined
11 Jul 2011
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755
Right then a week ago,

Managed to get myself tangled up in a machine at work basically no safety device on the thing that prevents material shooting forward and trapping a person and due to the nature of what is required to get it active you have to step inside the machine and do it manually with the machine active. Although normally you can isolate an area that prevents the material from moving. This didn't fail it was a case of material not seen on one end that had already entered the machine which prevented the shut off of the material moving.

Trying to be vague in case this is spotted by some employee or other but i ended up with material pushing me forward with quite some weight and ended up sore and bruised no lasting injury more so however it shook me up because had it been heavier material it doesn't bear to think what would have happened i wouldn't be here to tell the tale i know for sure. It was reported and put in the accident book plus i went to A&E to get checked over.

I obviously need to ask the works what the situation is going to be whilst I'm off work recovering my status of pay, should the answer be that they wont pay me for time off do i have to apply for work compensation and does this type of injury fall into this category?

To be honest going back to work is going to be daunting doing the same job and something i'll speak to them about in due course.

Just want to cover my ass nothing to do with making absurd claims for ££££s i have a young family and we can ill afford to take a hit financially whilst i get over the bruises.

Thoughts?
 
How long are you anticipating being off? What do your T&Cs say about sickness absence?

My initial thought was just go back to work and request a move to a different area, if you're just bruised.
 
Participant said:
How long are you anticipating being off? What do your T&Cs say about sickness absence?

My initial thought was just go back to work and request a move to a different area, if you're just bruised.
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The rest of the week which would be total of 3 days off. Yeah i will have a chat when i go back to work for sure. Just trying to dig out my works handbook as you mentioned that.
 
Depends on how your work respond really, if they give you full pay while you're off to recover and put measures in place to ensure it doesn't happen again then there's no need to take it any further IMO.

Conversely, if they act like it never happened and expect you to go off unpaid then it may be worth speaking to solicitor on a free consultation basis (pretty sure many of them offer this).

However if you're planning/needing to go down the legal route, make sure you followed all safety procedures to the letter, otherwise you'll get nowhere as they'll just respond with something like "Mr x has been trained to ensure the machine is safe before use by doing X, y & z, and failed to follow this procedure"
 
Cut and dried breach of the PUWER regulations, specifically regulation 11 (failure to guard).

If you claim, they'll pay because it's a material breach of the regulations.

How much will they pay? Depends on your contract. Could be as little as SSP but as much as full pay.
 
"Although normally you can isolate an area that prevents the material from moving"

Is this written in a manual? If it is you might not get anywhere or you may find you have breached the rules.

If not then you certainly need to speak to them about pay/health and safety etc. Is the machine still operated on the same way. Has anything been implemented to stop this from happening again.

With so little info. this could be oh crap you made a mistake to the company ******* themselves and having nightmares about a health and safety inspection.

Pleased you are ok as it sounds like it could have been far more serious.
 
Really comes down to did you follow the training to the letter or did you short cut. Pretty sure any training would make sure the power Isupply isolated before stepping in or on any machine with moving parts. If you did happy days ask for full pay while you are off. If you did not follow all ssow then expect a possible disaplinary hearing.
 
Probably need a little more info here to be able to advise accurately.

1- What do the T's & C's of your employment terms say regarding sick pay?
2- Was personal safety equipment provided and where you wearing / using it?
3- Were safety devices working and inplace on the machinery in question, were you trained to use them?
4- Should you have been where you were and doing what you were doing if the answers to 2 & 3 are yes?
 
Either your employer was at fault for the machine having insufficient guards, or for not training you in the use of a machine that cannot utilize guards, or you screwed up yourself.

Sadly your post is too vague for anybody to offer any useful information.
 
You said it's reported in the accident book, that's a good start. Do you have a union rep? If so speak to them for advice.

I don't think you will be able to get much useful advice unless you go into detail, which as you say, is best not to do on a public forum.

Dave
 
Really depends on your company.

If I get injured at work then I'm off on full pay until better - and then I can do alternative duties and/or reduced hours if thats what the doctor recommends.
 
EVH said:
Cut and dried breach of the PUWER regulations, specifically regulation 11 (failure to guard).

If you claim, they'll pay because it's a material breach of the regulations.

How much will they pay? Depends on your contract. Could be as little as SSP but as much as full pay.
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Can he expect to go back to the job if he takes them to court?
 
bloodiedathame said:
Can he expect to go back to the job if he takes them to court?
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This.

Take your employer to court for 3 days pay?

1st be glad you are pretty unscathed.
Work with employer so it can't happen again.
Come up with a procedure to better do It in the future.
 
Efour said:
This.
SNIP

1st be glad you are pretty unscathed.
Work with employer so it can't happen again.
Come up with a procedure to better do It in the future.
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This. You'll get a lot further in life if you work WITH people rather than against.

You weren't badly hurt so work with your employer to make sure nobody could be. It'll make you a much better employee.
 
bloodiedathame said:
Can he expect to go back to the job if he takes them to court?
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The company should have insurance in place. If there is a problem with the guards, either being defective, or removed (yes I've seen that...) then depending on injury put a claim in.
I had two claims in my last place of work, one for getting a chemical in my eye (insufficient eye protection provided) and another for breaking a finger on a power press, both successful.
Remember, the company is not your friend, and have a duty to provide a safe working environment.
Of course if you did something silly to speed things up (piecework etc) then it's your own fault.
 
First point of call, phone and speak to HR or your manager about the issue.

If they so no or you aren't happy come back with more details/info.

They also need to be doing a H&S review of the role/machine/area now as well.
 
Reading this just brings back memories of an incident i remember whilst working at Currys about 10 years ago.
Back then me and this other lad were both recruited into the warehouse, both of us being under 18, which at the time the company didn't know that you had to be 18+ to work in the warehouse (just goes to show the stupidity of some management).
Anyway, long story short, there was a conveyor machine between the ground and first floor for transporting heavy items (TV's etc). One day this lad manages to get his hand and arm caught under the belt. I remember hearing him scream, and when i rushed over to see what was going on, could see he was stuck. Didn't have a clue what to do. One of the deputy managers on the shop floor had also heard the scream, so ran in to see what was going on.
He'd managed to get himself out, and what looked like a few rubber burn marks to his arm, was lucky there was no broken bones.

Apart from a real shake up with health and safety (both him and I, were no longer allowed to work in the warehouse), nothing ever came of it. And i don't think he's ever revealed to anyone what on earth actually happened. I suppose by not admitting he was doing something stupid, saved him from a disciplinary, but i suspect he would have been well within his rights to file legal action.
 
bloodiedathame said:
Can he expect to go back to the job if he takes them to court?
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I've seen people make 5 or 6 claims against their employer.

Now, if it's a material breach then it's a criminal offence that they've committed, regardless of injury. So his claim is cut and dried with the added benefit that he's been injured at work. If he fell on a pot hole and it went civil down the civil claim / negligence route...that's likely to annoy them more.

Edit: I'm not telling the OP to claim, but rather pointing out the legal side of it.
 
Has anybody actually read the OP?
He doesn't want to claim, he just doesn't want to lose any money.

OP, talk to your employer and if they say no pay then take it higher.
Try and make sure there are better safety protocols put in place for the machine.

EVH said:
I've seen people make 5 or 6 claims against their employer.
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Absolutely, we have serial staff PI Claims and they go back to their jobs or given a new one.
 
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