Where would you legally stand after being hit at work?

Bev._2

This could've been worse, but as it is, it's nothing. I'm just painting a "what if" picture as i'm curious where i would've stood.

NOTE: If you injure yourself at work, my employer still only pays you up SSP.

To cut the story a bit shorter, the other day i was walking through work when a customer approached from behind in their car & beeped at me to get my attention.

Straight away as i was P'd off as i find that very bloody ignorant! Almost as bad as when customers whistle at you to get your attention!!!

Anyway, so i stop & turn around as this guy (must've been about 50-60 & seemed a bit slow (without wanting to sound harsh)) drives towards me.

Nothing unusual here. I'm thinking he's going to drive to me & stop or drive at the side of me & stop like everyone else does.

>> I WAS WEARING MY HI VIZ VEST <<

Anyway, this guy who isn't travelling fast, probably 5-10 mph (total guesswork obviously) keeps driving towards me & is getting closer & closer before i realise that he's not even going to stop, nevermind pull to the side.
So this guy then drives into me as i put both palms down on his bonnet & jump backwards.



He's then trying to talk through his window, which is up all the way, as he's holding his order ticket. Totally ignoring the fact he's just hit me.
I tell him to put his window down as i couldn't hear a bloody word he was saying anyway & then tell him he's just hit me & can't he see what he's doing?! Outright dangerous behind the wheel.

His reply: Yeah i know as he chuckles & then sets off talking about his ticket order :eek:. No apology, no nothing.




Now it's all well & good as i'm not injured, so we can laugh about it or come up with any sort of excuse as to why i may have been at fault somehow
But it'd be a total different matter if he hit a toddler & killed them because he can't engage his feet quick enough!!!



Question is:

IF i had been injured to the point where i'd have had to have taken time of work, where would i have legally stood with that one?

geri1965_2

The only legal obligation upon your employer is to pay you SSP if you are off work due to illness or injury, regardless of whether the accident occurred in the course of your employment or not.

Anything over and above this will be written in your contract or at your employer's discretion.

dseventy

Bev. wrote: »

Anyway, so i stop & turn around as this guy (must've been about 50-60 & seemed a bit slow (without wanting to sound harsh)) drives towards me.

Nothing unusual here. I'm thinking he's going to drive to me & stop or drive at the side of me & stop like everyone else does.

>> I WAS WEARING MY HI VIZ VEST <<

Anyway, this guy who isn't travelling fast, probably 5-10 mph (total guesswork obviously) keeps driving towards me & is getting closer & closer before i realise that he's not even going to stop, nevermind pull to the side.
?

[My bold]

If you could see he was coming towards you, slowly, not stopping, why didnt you just move out the way? Why wait until ....

So this guy then drives into me as i put both palms down on his bonnet & jump backwards.

Why not just move?

See, I like the common sense approach.

I would have stepped back.

Asked him for his delivery ticket, took it straight to the foreman/site manager/superviser and explain what nearly just happened.

anyway, SSP is paid if you are injured or ill and can't work, the circs are irrelavant really.

D70

ohreally

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/3004/regulation/17/made

There were suitable control mechanisms in operation?

Bev. wrote: »

IF i had been injured to the point where i'd have had to have taken time of work, where would i have legally stood with that one?

Perhaps the question should be - where would your employer stand with that one?

maninthestreet

This sounds like a job for the police - were there any witnesses or CCTV?

marywooyeah

maninthestreet wrote: »

This sounds like a job for the police - were there any witnesses or CCTV?

yes, I don't see how your employer fits into this at all never mind sick pay.

Sambucus_Nigra

Much as I'd like to whack someone who did this - you are just as responsible as it would have been reasonably practicable to step back out of the way. Unless there is an issue with the way that vehicles do travel round the site; I'd put it either down to experience or put it in down as a near miss if you think that would do anything.

Mr_Falling_Star

In my experience employers who don't pay sick pay when someone who has been assualted at work often find themselves with a whole load of hassle from either a Union solicitor or a "no win no fee" merchant.

Also, if employers do not pay sick pay or back their staff up, then they cannot act surprised when employees give in to the customer when he/she threatens violence.

Bev._2

Yes there were witnesses.
The foreman was told about it. He just called the customer an idiot & left it at that. Obviously not to the customers face.

There is CCTV, but whether it pointed at the incident spot is another question.

I could've moved yes. The guy could've stopped. He could've driven to the side of me. I could've not turned in to work that day. I could've won the lotto last week & been on a jet somewhere right now. There's many could'ves.
If you stand in the middle of the road and a car is coming towards you, you expect to get hit, you shouldn't be there.
If you're in a yard where customers are in their cars & staff are on foot, it's not out of the ordinary to expect a customer to use their brake. In my many years doing this job and dealing with the many 1000s of customers (yes i appreciate it only ever takes 1), evvvvvvvvvveryone has used their brake, apart from this guy.



As i said, it's a "what if ... curiosity" question, and not a question about what DID happen.

1. What if ... i was injured.
2. What did ... i'm not injured.

I'm asking about #1 only & thanks for the answer.



Here's another one out of curiosity then:

You tell me that the employer only has to pay SSP & that's the end of it.

We had a guy who had his arm crushed at work due to another workers negligence & ended up not being able to work there again & compensation between 30k - 50k depending on which rumour you believe.

If all they have to do is pay up SSP & that's the end of it, why would they have had to pay this guy out then?



** I'm not trying to 'gain' anything out of this. I'm purely asking "what if" to satisfy my own curiosity.

ohreally

marywooyeah wrote: »

yes, I don't see how your employer fits into this at all

HaSWA
DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS
Section 2(1)
Employer must protect the HS&W at work of all their employees &
Provide safe place of work
Section 2(2)e

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK REGS 1999
Regulation 3 Risk assessment (significant risks to be recorded)

THE WORKPLACE (HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE) REGS 1992
Regulation 17 Organisation of traffic routes

ohreally

Bev. wrote: »

If all they have to do is pay up SSP & that's the end of it, why would they have had to pay this guy out then?

Its extremely unlikely the employer would have paid this guy anything. This is firmly in the realm of an insurance settlement.