Heavy door injury case

Case explained:

The client works in a factory. She was about to enter her place of work via its main door. Another employee was leaving and opened the doors quickly from the other side. She was hit on her wrist whilst attempting to open the door.

Legal facts:

The employer is required to provide a safe workplace for you and other employees. Your employer is also required to conduct a risk assessment in order to determine any potential dangers or injuries that could arise from the work environment. If you have abided by all health and safety regulations and the accident was caused by the employer’s unsafe workspace, you are entitled to compensation.

The employer failed to do any appropriate risk assessment, contrary to Reg 3 of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999. By breaching obligations under statute, and this is prima facie a criminal act, the defendant’s conduct, in the circumstances, was negligent, either by act, or omission.

There was negligence as follows:
– The employer failed to provide a safe system of work.
– The employer failed to take the appropriate steps so as to ensure the risk of injury was minimal.
– The employer failed to advise the claimant regarding the hazard.
– The employer failed to use doors or a mechanism that would prevent such an injury
– The employer failed to suitably train staff or the claimant to avoid such incidents

Injuries:

Soft tissue damage. Pain and bruising to wrist. Affecting, arm, especially forearm and shoulder. Nervous around doors.

What we did: We assessed what the employer could have done to prevent such an injury from occurring. We assessed the severity of the injury from a doctor’s report and the time taken off work caused by the injury was used to calculate the amount of lost earnings, which helps us in obtaining a valuation of the claim to submit to the defendant in the form of compensation.

Claims can be made against your employer up to 3 years after the time of the accident. If you have suffered an injury in the workplace, it is advisable to keep evidence which documents the injury, such as CCTV footage, a note in the accident logbook or records of medical treatment you required.

Claiming against your employer after an accident has occurred that was not your fault will not only potentially compensate you for your injury and hardship suffered, but will also force the employer the make necessary changes to make the work space safer to prevent any future accidents if they had been reluctant to do so previously.