Regardless of whether you are a full or part-time employee, agency staff or a contractor, the same duty of care applies as outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It stands to reason then that the law takes a very dim view of those who fail to carry out these preventative measures and in the meantime, put their workers in harm’s way.

If you or a family member suffered an accident at work as a result of hazards in the workplace, you may be able to make a hazards in the workplace claim with help from our specialist team of solicitors.

The term ‘hazard’ when talking about workplace health and safety can be described as ‘any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects’. These hazards could be electrical cables stretched across the floor, items stacked high on shelves, or a microwave in the staffroom – but whatever the hazard, it is imperative that all employees are fully aware of all the potential hazards in the workplace and be equipped to deal with them, especially in the event of an emergency.

Under law, your employer has several responsibilities to reduce the risk of harm and to control any risks to injury, or health, that could arise.

This is called ‘risk management’ which includes a statutory risk assessment that unless there is less than five employees, should be written down and filed somewhere accessible. Failure to carry out such tasks is indeed a breach of their duty of care to you and is deemed as negligence.

Depending upon the industry there are countless hazards that can put workers at risk of harm, but where negligence is involved, there is no excuse. From our experience these personal injuries all have a social, emotional, physical and financial implication, not just for the victim, but for their family too.

Below are just a handful of situations that have the potential to lead to personal injuries:

• Slips from there being no ‘wet floor’ signs on the floor
• Electrical cables and wiring stretched across the floor
• Plug sockets fitted too close to water
• Staff operating machinery without adequate training
• Accidents not being recorded appropriately or in a timely manner
• Joint injuries from lack of manual handling training for staff
• Rubbish and recycling not being disposed of properly causing a fire

This list is not exhaustive and we will be in a better position to discuss your claim once we know your individual situation.

Once it can be proven that your accident or injury occurred as a result of the negligence of another party, there will be strong grounds for an accident at work compensation claim and we will assist you throughout the entire legal process.

Health and safety measures are a must for any UK employee and where you have been denied this, and suffered a workplace accident or injury as a direct result, you are in a position to make a compensation claim against your employer on the basis of negligence.