Work Claims Bureau’s tips for what to do if you have an accident at work
There were over 70,000 non-fatal work injuries reported in the UK in the financial year 2016-2017. This works out at almost 200 every single day. Both employers and employees should be aware of the procedure if injury occurs.
It won’t always be possible to take all the steps below, but we recommend that you do the following:
- Make sure that you complete a formal accident report with management / the Health and Safety rep at work at the earliest opportunity. Check that the report is correct. If you’re a casual or agency worker, you should be provided with contact details of to whom you should report an accident while you are working.
- If you have a serious injury, arrangements should be made for you to get immediate urgent medical attention. For minor injuries, make sure you see the doctor, even if you do not think your injury is serious. This will be helpful later if you need to claim benefits, or if you’re making a personal injury claim.
- Write notes of what happened, including events in the day leading to the accident, the time it happened, and where it happened.
- Do a simple sketch if this helps explain the mechanics of what happened
- Keep the details of anyone who witnessed the accident
- If possible, ask the health & safety rep to secure the accident area. Get photographs taken of the accident scene.
- Keep all your old and current payslips.
- Seek independent legal advice.
- If you are a member of a trade union, speak to your union representative to see how they can help you with arrangements after the accident
- Check if you’re entitled to sick pay. This Citizens Advice Bureau guide may be helpful.
There are many regulations in UK law that govern the steps your employer needs to take to help prevent accidents in the workplace. Your accident may have happened because a proper risk assessment was not carried out, or because they did not do enough to make your workplace/equipment safe. It could also be that you did not receive proper training or were not provided with the correct protective equipment.
If you’ve been injured at work and this was not your fault, you could be entitled to claim compensation. Work Claims Bureau can start to put you on the right track to deal with any changes a work injury brings. For a free consultation, call our specialist team today on 0161 813 2132 or use our contact form.
