If you are required to work with dangerous machinery as part of your job, then your employers are legal bound to do everything within their power to attempt to minimise the risk to you. According to the Safety at Work Act of 1974, employers have a significant duty of care to their employees, meaning that they should do everything that is humanly possible to prevent injuries from occurring in the workplace.
If you have however been injured by dangerous machinery at work, then your employer may have failed in their duty of care, and you may be entitled to make a dangerous machinery injury claim.
How can Employers Fail in their Duty Of Care?
Most dangerous machinery injury claims result from accidents which could have been avoided had employers upheld their duty of care. Many accidents occur because standard safety features have not been put in place to protect employees. For example, if staff are not given the correct personal protective equipment, such as high visibility jackets or ear protectors, then injuries can easily occur or could be considerably worse than they would have been otherwise.
Employers can also fail in their duty of care if they do not provide dangerous machinery users with adequate training to allow them to use the machinery. Even seemingly safe machinery can become dangerous if operated without proper training, especially because the safety features of machines may not be properly enabled if the machinery is not being used correctly.
Employers must also make sure that machinery is regularly cleaned and serviced to ensure that it is running properly. If a piece of machinery is damaged, it is more likely to malfunction during use and cause serious damage. It is also less likely to behave as expected, meaning that even well trained staff may not be able to handle the machinery safely. If an employer fails in any of these aspects of their duty of care, serious injuries or even death can occur.
What Sorts of Injuries or Illnesses can Claims Be Made Against?
A dangerous machinery injury claim can be made against almost any injury which has been sustained whilst using a dangerous piece of equipment; however the amount of compensation which you receive will depend on a number of different factors. These factors include the type of injury which you have received, the extent that the injury has affected your quality of life and whether the injury has resulted in a loss of earnings. As well as crushing and laceration injuries, dangerous machinery claims may be made by people whose hearing has been affected by machine use or by those who have suffered from lung diseases due to the inhalation of fumes from dangerous machinery.
If you think that you have suffered an injury or illness due to using dangerous machinery in the workplace, then you may be eligible to make a claim for compensation. The best way to be successful in a dangerous machinery injury claim is to get in contact with a claims specialist.