123 Personal Injury Claims - Legal Advice on making an Industrial Injury Claim, as a result of an
injury suffered at work. Most types of Accident at Work Claim considered. No Win No Fee.

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Introduction

The law on UK industrial injury claims stems mainly from EU Regulations introduced in 1993.

Individuals wishing to claim compensation can refer to the Regulations for most types of industrial accident.

The most frequently used EU regulations are as follows:

• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
• The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
• The Manual Handling Operations Regulations
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
• The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations

These Regulations require every employer to make a risk assessment:

• Firstly of the risks to the health and safety of employees to which they are exposed at work, and
• Secondly the risks to the health and safety of non-employees arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking

The requirement to risk assess is a common theme linking the above EU legislation.

If an accident at work were to occur, then there is generally the requirement for the risk assessment to be revisited and improved.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations

These regulations address common factors in industrial injury claims such as:

• Maintenance of the workplace
• Ventilation
• Temperature of indoor workplaces
• Lighting, cleaning and waste materials
• Room dimensions and space
• Condition of floors and traffic routes.

With regard to floors and traffic routes, the regulations state that these must be without:

• Holes
• Slopes
• Unevenness
• Slippery substances.

Additionally, floors must have effective means of drainage where necessary. They must also be free from obstructions and articles or substances which would be likely to cause a person to slip, trip or fall.

Many falls take place in the workplace every year. As a result the above regulation tends to be cited very frequently in tripping accidents at work.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations

Many UK back injury claims in the workplace are the result of lifting unsafe loads. The Manual Handling Regulations address this type of accident.

The regulations specify that so far as is reasonably practicable, the employer must prevent his employees from having to do any lifting at work.

If lifting is unavoidable, then a suitable risk assessment must be carried out.

The risk assessment in question must take into account:

• The nature of the task
• The nature of the load being handled
• The working environment
• The capabilities of the individual.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations

These specify that work equipment must be:

• Suitable
• Maintained in an efficient state
• In efficient working order
• In good repair

Furthermore proper instructions must be provided to employees.

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations

These regulations state that every employer up shall ensure that suitable personal protective equipment (or PPE) is provided to his employees who may be exposed to risk to their health and safety while at work.

Such PPE that is provided must be suitable and properly maintained. The employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure that any PPE provided to his employees is properly used.

For more information on UK industrial injury claims, please visit the website of the Health and Safety Executive.