work accident, pls help

iainbp

Hi just wondering if anyone can help me. i work for a delivery service. i drive a refrigerated van . at the beginning of the day my boss asked myself and a mate to pick up some old car doors on our route . we pick them up in a few hours into our run , they were not strapped down or anything cus there is nowhere to strap them to anything . it got to bout 6 pm and we were doing r 3rd from last drop at a petrol station . when i got into the back of the van to get the sandwich which r in sort of cardboard bread trays. as i turned round to get out i caught my ankle on a corner of a door and fell on the door and fractured a rib . i have been off work for 5 weeks now and since then i haven't had any money apart from SSP and that was bout 90 pound in all . and i cant afford to pay bills or car insurance or tax .

i suppose im asking if there is any way of i can claim on this as it has left me in a sticky situation



regards

Proc

So you tripped over a door that you didn't secure properly.

And this is somone else's fault how exactly?

iainbp

we couldnt secure them properly cus there was nothing to secure them to. its a refrigerated van not a goods van .

Horace

iainbp wrote: »

Hi just wondering if anyone can help me. i work for a delivery service. i drive a refrigerated van . at the beginning of the day my boss asked myself and a mate to pick up some old car doors on our route . we pick them up in a few hours into our run , they were not strapped down or anything cus there is nowhere to strap them to anything . it got to bout 6 pm and we were doing r 3rd from last drop at a petrol station . when i got into the back of the van to get the sandwich which r in sort of cardboard bread trays. as i turned round to get out i caught my ankle on a corner of a door and fell on the door and fractured a rib . i have been off work for 5 weeks now and since then i haven't had any money apart from SSP and that was bout 90 pound in all . and i cant afford to pay bills or car insurance or tax .

i suppose im asking if there is any way of i can claim on this as it has left me in a sticky situation



regards

As it happened on work's premises (the van can be classed as a place of work) then you should have contacted your boss or got your work colleague to enter the accident into the accident book (the company for whom you work has to have one by law).

What does your contract say about being paid whilst you are off sick? It is normal practice, although it could be different where you work hence you will need to read your contract - to pay 3 months on full pay and then drop to half pay and then no pay.

One wonders what your boss was doing when he asked you to pick up some scrap doors and carry them in a food van - there is a hygiene issue here too. I would write a letter to the HR department explaining why you are sick, and that the accident would not have occurred had you not been asked to pick up some scrap doors.

If you are in a union - speak to them and get them involved, if not then you could perhaps try contacting a no win no fee personal injury lawyer. Check your contents insurance - you may have access to free legal advice.

It could be said that the company contributed to the accident by asking you to pick up these doors and carry them about on the van whilst you were doing your food deliveries but you could possibly be to blame too but I am not a legal expert so you would need to seek advice on that score.

Ignore Proc - he is just a troll who likes to inflame the situation by calling people lazy..You can either right click on his name and then select ignore or you can report him by clicking on the abuse button which is the red warning triangle on the right hand side at the bottom of his (and everyone else's) postings.

iainbp

if i called my boss and said we are not picking them up . he could of said dont bother coming to work tomorrow and i didnt want that , so we did what he said . i dont call it lazy and i did bother to sort things as far as i was concerned .

iainbp

i did put it in the book . but i work for a agency . i dont know what to do now

Motorvating

In this case both you and the company you work for are at fault here.

You should have performed a risk assessment when you saw the load, however you was sent out by the company who knew what the load was, so yes the company is at fault and probably liable.

Even though you failed your Health n Safety obligations, the company still has a duty of care towards you which includes the correct tools to do the job, and sending a refrigerated van to pick car doors up that can not be strapped down is a failing on their part.

You need to phone the department of Works and Pensions to submit an industrial injury.

Make sure you record the accident in the accident book at work.

If you are after company sick pay if they have it, then you need to write to your manager asking why you have only been paid SSP and request the payment. If that fails you have to submit a formal grievance.

If you are after a financial compensation, then you need to either speak to your Union rep, or visit a legal firm.

Proc

Motorvating wrote: »

In this case both you and the company you work for are at fault here.

You should have performed a risk assessment when you saw the load, however you was sent out by the company who knew what the load was, so yes the company is at fault and probably liable.

Even though you failed your Health n Safety obligations, the company still has a duty of care towards you which includes the correct tools to do the job, and sending a refrigerated van to pick car doors up that can not be strapped down is a failing on their part.

You need to phone the department of Works and Pensions to submit an industrial injury.

Make sure you record the accident in the accident book at work.

If you are after company sick pay if they have it, then you need to write to your manager asking why you have only been paid SSP and request the payment. If that fails you have to submit a formal grievance.

If you are after a financial compensation, then you need to either speak to your Union rep, or visit a legal firm.

People like you are the exact reason my employer's liability insurance is so expensive.

Pandering to stupid people. Looking for financial gains over ridiculous accidents. I've just read your responses in the other thread, where someone quit their job because their manager told them off for incorrect uniform. You jumped up screaming harrassment and bullying? Seriously, toughen up.

Talk about putting two and two together to get five.

OP didn't handle the situation properly. Employer may have just had an over-sight and not realised the size of the doors etc. The point is, he wasn't even given an opportunity to fix it. Employee injures himself (broken rib, so what?) and we have people like you listing his rights, how to compensate etc etc.

I'm sorry, but if I was asked to do something, and then I found out that it was apparently unsafe to do so, I wouldn't just go ahead and do it. That's just stupidity - the exact kind of behaviour that you are defending.

Snakeeyes21

Take them to the cleaners. At the same time you can report yourself and your employer for breaching food hygiene regulations? I take it you will be telling them that you knowingly contaminated food that was being delivered. It comes with a hefty fine.