Archive for the 'Working at height' Category

Some basic elements need to exist for a successful accident compensation claim to be made.  The most common types of accident claims are a road accident claim or an accident at work claim.

To succeed in an accident compensation claim, the accident must have happened because someone was at fault and the victim suffered an injury.  The other party must have been aware that their actions (or lack of action) could cause injury, and which is commonly the situation when they are either another road user or an employer.

Published in Truckstop News June 2009.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “INJURIES COMMONLY SUFFERED BY TRUCKERS IN WORK ACCIDENTS”.

This article considers the types of injuries commonly suffered by truckers every day, while at work.  Highlighting particular accident situations and their consequences may help to increase awareness of the dangers they face.

An accident can happen at any time while at work.  This may be on the road driving from one depot to another, during the loading or unloading process, or even when simply walking around a company’s premises waiting for instructions or for a vehicle to be made ready. 

It is normally necessary for an injured person wishing to claim personal injury compensation to start Court proceedings in support of their claim within three years of the date of their accident.  If they do not do so the claim will usually be lost, as it will have become statute barred because of the provisions of the Limitation Acts.

However, the Court of Appeal recently decided that when Judges are exercising their discretion whether or not to waive the three year time limit, they should not automatically regard the person or company responsible for causing the accident to be prejudiced by removing their ability to use the passage of time as a defence.

Published in Truckstop News – May 2009.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “TRAILERS – HAZARDS THAT CAN RESULT IN ACCIDENTS”.

My many years’ experience of injury compensation claims made by truckers suggests that more problems arise when delivering or collecting a load than on the roads.  It is therefore not surprising that regulations place responsibilities on both employers and employees to help reduce the risk of injury.

Employers’ basic duties in this regard include:-

•  undertaking risk assessments and planning the loading and unloading of vehicles so as to avoid or minimise the need to work at height;
•  ensuring there are well designed access points to vehicles and trailers;
•  fitting additional safety equipment if necessary, eg access ladders or non-slip surfaces;
•  providing protective equipment, eg slip resistant footwear;
•  ensuring work equipment is well maintained;
•  recognising problems with particular vehicles and responding to suggestions, eg for preventing falls from those vehicles;
•  ensuring supervisors check how people get on and off vehicles, and enforce safe systems of work.

Companies are failing to invest in inexpensive and simple measures that would prevent their workforce having work accidents while working at height.  Many accident work claims for personal injury compensation are as a result of poor management, broken or inadequate equipment, or structural failures.  Records indicate that incidents involving a fall from a height currently result in more workplace deaths than from any other type of work accident.

Some employers appear to believe that workplace height regulations apply only to sizeable heights.  This is wrong, as anything above one metre is classed as “working at height”.  Many work accidents result in injuries when there is a fall at “low height”, such as when truck drivers unload goods from HGVs.

Published in Truckstop News – July 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers the “HAZARDS INVOLVED WHEN LOADING AND UNLOADING LORRIES”.

Recent evidence suggests that each year around 60 workers are killed and 5,000 seriously injured while working in haulage and distribution.  A further 23,000 sustain injuries severe enough to keep them off work for several days.

Many of these injuries are due to accidents during the loading and unloading process, often caused by:-

Published in Truckstop News – May 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers the measures in place to prevent “ACCIDENTS THAT HAPPEN WHEN WORKING AT A HEIGHT”.

Falls from a height account for the majority of workplace accidents resulting in fatality or serious injury.  To combat this the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (amended 2007) were brought into force, placing more detailed and stringent requirements on employers and others who control work that is undertaken at a height.

The Regulations apply to all work at height where there is a risk of injury from falling, and also cover instances where an injury is caused by falling objects.  No minimum height is set; there simply has to be a risk of injury from falling.  Therefore the Regulations apply at ground level or even underground, if the accident was as a result of falling a distance likely to cause injury.

Published in Truckstop News – March 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers the causes and consequences of “TRIPPING AND FALLING ACCIDENTS AT WORK”.   

Approximately 37% of all major accidents in the workplace are caused by slipping and tripping.  Of those, 95% result in broken bones or dislocated limbs.  A slip or trip could lead to even more serious consequences, such as falling from a height or colliding with a motor vehicle, and the possibility of falling into a machine or into a container of hot liquid or acid hardly bears thinking about.

Published in Truckstop News – November 2007.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors deals with the problem of “FALLING OFF THE BACK OF A LORRY”. 

“Falling off the back of a lorry” conjures up images of cartoon antics and shady dealings, but anyone who has suffered this type of accident takes the matter very seriously indeed.  Accidents can be caused by – a defect with the lorry or trailer – the means of getting on/off the lorry or trailer – difficulties with the load.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning to Everest Ltd, after workers were repeatedly put at risk of falling while working at height.

The HSE inspected properties where roof refurbishment was being carried out by the company.  Its employees were working on mobile scaffolds and platforms without having suitable protection to prevent them from falling.  There was a lack of handrails and parts of the equipment were not properly set up.

At a hearing in the Luton Magistrates Court, the company pleaded guilty to breaching Health and Safety Law, including the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and was fined £6,000.  The company was also required to pay almost £16,000 in legal costs

In 2007 over half of the workers who died on construction sites were engaged in refurbishment work, with the number of fatal accidents increasing by 61%.  Also during that year working at height was a factor in the deaths of 23 construction workers.