ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE WORK EQUIPMENT
May 27th, 2008 HinchliffesPublished in Truckstop News - April 2008.
In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers employers duty to minimise the risk of “ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE WORK EQUIPMENT”.
Accidents and injuries at work are often caused by defective or faulty work equipment. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 apply to all work equipment. If the employer has breached the duty to provide a safe working environment and/or a safe system of work and as a result the employee has suffered injury, the employer may be liable to pay compensation to the employee for his or her injuries and any financial losses, such as reduced earnings.
“Work equipment” is defined as meaning any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work. In the context of the Regulations “use of work equipment” means any activity involving the equipment and includes starting, stopping, programming, setting, transporting, repairing, modifying, maintaining, servicing and cleaning.
Work equipment has to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided, and employers have to take steps to minimise the risk of any effect the equipment may have upon an employee’s health and safety. This is a particular focus of the Regulations, which view the safety of the equipment from three aspects - its initial integrity, its place of use, and the purpose for which it will be used. The equipment must be suitable by design, construction or adaptation for the actual work it is provided to do.
Particular care should be taken with equipment that is used for carrying people, which must be suitable for its purpose and safe to use. Employers should consider the potential for someone falling from the equipment, perhaps due to unexpected movement, and should carefully consider the working environment.
A risk assessment for each task has to be carried out to identify any dangers or risks to health, including any posed by the equipment assigned to the task. Whilst carrying out such assessments, employers need to have regard to working conditions, risks caused by premises and the specific use of the equipment itself, and must also take into account ergonomic risks and bear in mind the size and capabilities of the employee undertaking the work. Employees are entitled to be told of any risks to their health and safety highlighted by the risk assessment.
All employers must ensure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and is kept in good repair. ”Maintenance” is referred to in very broad terms and covers the need for routine checks, planned and preventive maintenance, and repairs to ensure that work equipment is safe to use. However, because the duty upon employers under the Regulations is absolute, even if routine checks and repairs are undertaken, if something unexpected causes the equipment to fail and an employee is injured as a result, the employer may still have to meet any claim for compensation.
Access must be prevented by the employer to dangerous parts of a machine. In some situations the employer should ensure that any moving parts that may cause a danger are stopped before anyone comes within the “danger zone”. The risk of injury can often be minimised by the use of guards or by supplying the employee with special clothing.
Employers must provide their staff with adequate training in how to use the work equipment, including where appropriate written information and instructions. Any risks involved and precautions that should be taken to avoid injury should be highlighted. Special attention must be paid when training certain classes of employees, eg young people, drivers and chainsaw operators.
If an employer has failed to comply with the Regulations with regard to work equipment and as a result an employee is injured, a claim for compensation is likely to succeed. Even if the employee has been partly at fault (eg failed to wear the safety clothing supplied or did not take sufficient care in follow instructions) a claim can still be pursued, but the compensation may be reduced to reflect their part in the accident and which is known as “contributory negligence”.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
I use a circular saw at work, but the guard kept getting stuck and my boss told me to fix it. I tried to jam the guard out of the way, but it fell down on my wrist pushing my finger onto the blade. My finger was badly cut and remains stiff, and I will be left with a nasty scar. My boss has told me that the accident was my own fault and that he is not responsible.
Your employer should have had the saw, and in particular the guard, repaired by a qualified mechanic. The saw remained defective even after you had jammed the guard. A claim against your employer should be successful and he would have difficulty arguing that you were partly to blame for the accident, and you should therefore be able to recover full compensation without any reductions.
I drive an old lorry for my employer, delivering farm supplies. He keeps it well maintained, but last month when I was going round a corner the steering failed and the lorry went off the road and I broke my ankle. I asked about making a claim for my injuries and lost earnings while I could not drive, but he says it was a pure accident and does not think I am entitled to claim, as he did all he could to ensure the lorry was in good order. Is this right?
You would have a good claim against your employer as the mere fact that the steering failed meant that the lorry was defective, even though nobody thought it was at the time. Although he otherwise maintained the vehicle to a good standard, this would not enable him to successfully defend a claim.
At work I use a rope cutting machine. It is quite old and sometimes the drive belt comes off. When this happens I open the guard while the motor is still running and slip the drive belt back on again. My supervisor knows that I do this, even though I am not supposed to. The last time this happened I got my finger stuck in the belt and because of this my finger broke. I assume the accident was my own fault and that I cannot make a claim.
The machine was defective and despite your supervisor turning a blind eye to what you were doing, you should not have put yourself at risk. However, you are still able to make a claim and this is likely to be successful, but you should expect your compensation to be reduced to reflect your own negligence.
ENDS
(Other Personal Injury FAQs)
PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM SOLICITORS:-
If you have suffered any form of accident contact personal injury specialists Hinchliffes Solicitors for immediate legal advice, to find out if you are entitled to make claims for injury compensation. All cases are conducted on a No Win - No Fee basis, where the Client keeps 100% of the compensation recovered.
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Tags: accidents, claim, compensation, injuries, personal injury, work equipment
