work place injury claim advise
Discussion
lyonspride said:
You need to look at the health and safety related documentation at the workplace, most employers will do things like telling you you cannot do X, whilst fully knowing that you have no alternative, meaning it's effectively your own fault if you get hurt.
Example....... Your not allowed to lift heavy items on your own, but if you don't then you wouldn't be able to meet targets and you'd get sacked.
But if the employer knows you are not working safely and essentially condone it, then once again they are as responsible as the worker. Same with the employing sub contractors, you still have to ensure a safe system of work is used and adhered to. You can't just get 'dodgy & co' to do the difficult jobs and absolve all responsibility to them anymore.Example....... Your not allowed to lift heavy items on your own, but if you don't then you wouldn't be able to meet targets and you'd get sacked.
We had a death in the company site next door. It all came into sharp focus them (though not a contractor).
A few thoughts. I’m not a lawyer but I’ve been involved in workplace injury claims from both sides.
RIDDOR is pretty clear cut. If something should have been reported and wasn’t then notify the HSE yourself. HSE take a dim view of non reporting.
The HSE is a criminal.investigation, you will be making a civil claim. Ok, if the HSE have prosecuted the company it makes a claim pretty much a slam dunk, but just because there’s no HSE involvement does not mean you won’t win. Criminal prosecution “beyond reasonable doubt” civil claim “balance of probabilities” in other words you only have to show it was probable that your injury was caused by failings of the company.
Be wary of no win no fee, most expect you to “buy” an insurance policy which covers their costs if you don’t win. If you do win their costs come out of your claim. So no win no fee will take on pretty much anything as they will not be out of pocket. It would be worth talking to a non no win no fee solicitor as they will give you a better idea if you have a reasonable chance of winning a claim. A lot wIll give a free first consultation.
Unless your claim is significant, life changing and prevents you from working in the future do not expect to win large life changing sums. It doesn’t work like that.
The success of a claim will often depend on a company’s attitude. If they hand it over to the insurance company, it will be almost totally a decision of cost. Is it cheaper to pay you or fight it? Other company’s will fight dubious claims on principal to discourage more claims.
As others have said, if you are a member of a union talk to them. They know how the system works. I could tell horror stories of unions running courses in how to claim but they also do a lot of good supporting their members. One company I knew, the insurance company judged it more cost effective to pay out for an claim below a certain value without question. Bingo. The union would sort out your claim for just below that figure every few years, new car, new kitchen claim, thank you very much
I’ve got very cynical over the years over compensation claims, but if a company’s negligence has genuinely caused harm then they should pay for it.
RIDDOR is pretty clear cut. If something should have been reported and wasn’t then notify the HSE yourself. HSE take a dim view of non reporting.
The HSE is a criminal.investigation, you will be making a civil claim. Ok, if the HSE have prosecuted the company it makes a claim pretty much a slam dunk, but just because there’s no HSE involvement does not mean you won’t win. Criminal prosecution “beyond reasonable doubt” civil claim “balance of probabilities” in other words you only have to show it was probable that your injury was caused by failings of the company.
Be wary of no win no fee, most expect you to “buy” an insurance policy which covers their costs if you don’t win. If you do win their costs come out of your claim. So no win no fee will take on pretty much anything as they will not be out of pocket. It would be worth talking to a non no win no fee solicitor as they will give you a better idea if you have a reasonable chance of winning a claim. A lot wIll give a free first consultation.
Unless your claim is significant, life changing and prevents you from working in the future do not expect to win large life changing sums. It doesn’t work like that.
The success of a claim will often depend on a company’s attitude. If they hand it over to the insurance company, it will be almost totally a decision of cost. Is it cheaper to pay you or fight it? Other company’s will fight dubious claims on principal to discourage more claims.
As others have said, if you are a member of a union talk to them. They know how the system works. I could tell horror stories of unions running courses in how to claim but they also do a lot of good supporting their members. One company I knew, the insurance company judged it more cost effective to pay out for an claim below a certain value without question. Bingo. The union would sort out your claim for just below that figure every few years, new car, new kitchen claim, thank you very much
I’ve got very cynical over the years over compensation claims, but if a company’s negligence has genuinely caused harm then they should pay for it.
kestral said:
Why is this gueswork and waffle? response awaited.
All your posts are guesswork and waffle. You post in many of the legal/anti-police threads. What legal credentials do you have? Response awaited.*
* Been awaited for all the years you've been spouting your bulls
t. Nothing changes. 
Mr Dendrite said:
...Be wary of no win no fee, most expect you to “buy” an insurance policy which covers their costs if you don’t win. If you do win their costs come out of your claim. So no win no fee will take on pretty much anything as they will not be out of pocket. It would be worth talking to a non no win no fee solicitor as they will give you a better idea if you have a reasonable chance of winning a claim. A lot wIll give a free first consultation...
The vast majority (if not all) of After the Event (ATE) policies I have seen don’t cover the Claimant’s solicitors fees. They cover the Defendant’s costs in the event of an unsuccessful claim and possibly/probably third party costs (disbursements), such as the cost of paying a medical expert to prepare a medico legal report.Since Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting was introduced, ATE is really about protecting against Part 36 risk, ie the costs position post expiration of a Part 36 settlement offer made by the Defendant. The policies are optional, although some firms may insist on such cover for them to act.
There are other circumstances where adverse costs can arise, such as where the claim is found to be fundamentally dishonest, but in such circumstances the ATE would not kick in in any event.
If the claim succeeds in the ordinary course of events, the Claimant’s costs are recovered from the Defendant in addition to the compensation payment. But there will likely be a difference between the costs incurred and those recovered, as disputes will arise about hourly rates, time spent on tasks etc. The difference may be recovered from the compensation payment to take account of the “shortfall”. Any success fee, which underpins the workings of “no win, no fee” (conditional fee) agreements is not recoverable either, so that can be part of the deduction too IF agreed in the retainer at the outset. A compensation guarantee is typically put in place, ie you will always receive at least X% of your damages.
Some firms will charge a 0% success fee and it is possible to have a 100% compensation guarantee. There are some very good firms that work on that basis (although it can depend on the referral source). The old adage, you get what you pay for can be relevant too.
Going via the union or legal expenses can achieve the above, but can limit the choice of representation.
The majority of firms who do this work will offer no win, no fee. And some will take on difficult liability cases.
I know of one large firm that has a policy of not taking on cases in certain accident types where there is less than one year to run until limitation, ie the deadline by which the claim has to be settled or court proceedings commenced. So it is advisable for the OP to seek advice now and not further delay to give a chance for any representation to assess things before the deadline. Leaving it too late could result in it being difficult to find a firm to take the risk by issuing without having had a chance to review the Defendant’s position.
Creating a chronology is a good idea, as mentioned by Vaud. It will help in explaining events both to the legal representation and any medical experts. As well as helping with any witness evidence from the OP.
Any solicitor will send the OP authorities to sign to enable them to access all of the medical records. This includes records prior to and since the accident. This will then contain everything that is available and can be made available to the medical experts and, where court proceedings are necessary which seems likely here due to time having elapsed, will form part of disclosure that will be sent to the Defendant. The records will be important in establishing the extent of the injuries, what has happened since then, and also establish what is known as “causation”. In simple terms, this relates to establishing that the symptoms/difficulties complained of by the OP are linked to the accident, as opposed to some other factor either pre-dating or post-dating the accident. The solicitors will look at this by instructing the medical experts and there could well be experts instructed by both sides.
Edited by Cudd Wudd on Monday 1st March 09:21
Saleen836 said:
OP, have you been unable to work since the accident or have you continued to work for the company throughout doing your normal duties?
i work but have much diminished duties. i can no longer lift pretty much anything above my waist nor can i turn keys and the like with my right arm.Smurfsarepeopletoo said:
Can I ask how you injured your bicep on a fence, are you able to advise what happened?
The fence was a new design. It was an interlocking one and built like a snake. As it was a new design they had not thought it out fully and neglected to design a way of getting in and out of it. Its built so you start at one point and keep building off of that until it reaches the beginning again. The problem lies that they did not design a way of entering it apart once its all connected up. You have to go against its construction to make a temporary break point to gain access to the area inside. Due to the way its built the full weight of one side is in opposition to the other and you are trying to twist/pull/lift the units apart.You better believe the day after the accident they had made a rushed door entry system that they installed which was a complete failure so it was eliminated.
280E said:
She's probably well aware of the risks involved in entering the average engineering workshop!
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