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accident at work
Mrs_L
Posts: 319 Forumite
Hope someone can help!
My husband recently had an accident in work. He ripped the distal tendon away from the bicep, whilst lifting a wheelbarrow off the back of a pickup. He has had surgery to repair it and has been told by the physio that it could be Jan before he gets full use of his arm, but there is also the possibility he may not get full use. At the moment he can't straighten or rotate it, which means he can't lift anything heavier than the telephone nor can he drive.
He works in construction and this means that he can't work, his employer is only paying stat sick pay which is £150 per week, he normally takes home £400. We have accident cover on our mortgage so that is covered when they eventually pay it, but we are still struggling financially.
We have been thinking that he may have to claim for his injury as the proper equipment for lifting wasn't available onsite to use (i.e a forklift) but we have a few concerns about this.
1. Who do we claim from is it his employer or is there somewhere you can claim for an industrial injuryand would this count as industrial injury?
2. If he claims from his employer can he then loose his job?
3. If we go down the claim route, does the legal cover on our home insurance cover this?
4. Is it a good idea or not?
We don't want thousands, but we are concerned that we could end up in a lot of debt if we don't because of an accident that could have been prevented. We know it could take a long time for it to come through if he won.
All advice welcome!!
My husband recently had an accident in work. He ripped the distal tendon away from the bicep, whilst lifting a wheelbarrow off the back of a pickup. He has had surgery to repair it and has been told by the physio that it could be Jan before he gets full use of his arm, but there is also the possibility he may not get full use. At the moment he can't straighten or rotate it, which means he can't lift anything heavier than the telephone nor can he drive.
He works in construction and this means that he can't work, his employer is only paying stat sick pay which is £150 per week, he normally takes home £400. We have accident cover on our mortgage so that is covered when they eventually pay it, but we are still struggling financially.
We have been thinking that he may have to claim for his injury as the proper equipment for lifting wasn't available onsite to use (i.e a forklift) but we have a few concerns about this.
1. Who do we claim from is it his employer or is there somewhere you can claim for an industrial injuryand would this count as industrial injury?
2. If he claims from his employer can he then loose his job?
3. If we go down the claim route, does the legal cover on our home insurance cover this?
4. Is it a good idea or not?
We don't want thousands, but we are concerned that we could end up in a lot of debt if we don't because of an accident that could have been prevented. We know it could take a long time for it to come through if he won.
All advice welcome!!
0
Comments
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Lifting a wheelbarrow off a pickup does not require a forklift!0
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The employer is actually being generous. SSP is a lot less than £150 its around about £75 a week so he's paying him approx. double.make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
and we will never, ever return.0 -
Your legal expenses should be able to help you.
Employers have a duty to minimise manual handling as far as is reasonably practicable.
What is the usual method of getting these off the pickup? Why was it not followed on this occasion?0 -
It shouldn't have been on the pickup, there should have been a forklift so that the compo could be moved in tubs.0
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Well, I'd say he has a pretty good case then.
He will need to claim against his employer & their insurers will deal with it.
They can't sack him for pursuing a claim - although they could make life difficult for him. It really depends what kind of company he works for and the type of people they are. Larger companies tend not to take it personally.
Is it a good idea? Well, that is a matter of opinion (as you will see if you read any threads about compensation on here). Personally I am on the side of the injured person - nobody should have to suffer or be out of pocket as a result of someone else's negligence, when they are just trying to do their job.0 -
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...to your door in buckets by any chance...it seems that is what you want! As I said a couple of planks off the back of the pickup should have have been the way to go!
Actually that would not be a safe way to move them - they could easily fall off the side, or the wheels could jam on the planks causing a jarring injury.0 -
If you can't yet quantify any loss, how can you place a value on it?...told by the physio that it could be Jan before he gets full use of his arm, but there is also the possibility he may not get full use.
We don't want thousands...
That said, and from memory, you have 3 years to make a claim. I'd suggest you wait (almost) that long as any offer made will no doubt be 'full and final settlement'.
Your husband will win 'something' in my experience of initially handling claims for a former employer, especially when the lawyers play their trump card, namely "please provide details of any risk assessments pertaining to the offloading of loaded wheelbarrows from vehicles".
However, some points to note:
1. A few job application forms I've seen recently now include the question "have you ever made a claim against an employer for an industrial injury?"
2. Unless he was specifically told HOW to take the loaded barrow off the vehicle, your husband has failed to take reasonable care for his, and his fellow employees', safety. Hence, any payout will be reduced due to contributory negligence.
3. If it's a small firm he may find working there 'uncomfortable' after any payout.0
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