Would you ever claim against your employer?

dickydonkin

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Where i work there are no accidents and if there are,its your fault and you could well be disciplined.

This situation dismays me - I have seen it in many companies.

It is a sorry state where an employee is in fear of reporting an accident - it should never be that way.

When an accident or near miss occurs, although a negative event - it can provide valuable information to ensure it does not happen again.

If they are not reported and the victim suffers in silence - then the cause will not be remedied and can place others at risk of having exactly the same accident.

It may be an issue with the workplace or equipment and if it is deemed an individual has contributed to the accident, then there may be issues with policies, procedures, processes and training.

Many safety features we have in our workplace have been developed through learning from accidents - including the legislation that is the backbone of our safety laws.

On the original question, I am a little confused by posters indicating that the size of the company would be a deciding factor if they were to claim for personal injury.

Is that suggesting that someone who loses an arm working for a small company will suffer less than if the victim worked for a large multi-national?

A safety failing is a safety failing - irrespective of the size of the organisation and ALL companies have to comply with the same health & safety laws - and that includes the requirement of employers liability insurance - although I accept that any personal claim would be a civil matter.

As for fear of jeopordising promotion - I value my personal safety more than a few more quid in my pay packet each month and a fancy job title - or indeed a job.

If someone is seriously injured, then potentially they would not be able to work anyway!

Rant over - and don't get me going on 'bonuses' paid by companies who have 'no accidents' in a given period of time!

malcindebt wrote: »

The specialist I saw at the hospital has said it's unlikely I'll get full movement back in my shoulder due to the damage.

And just to add - what seriously needs to be considered is not the short term consequences of an injury - but the potential of causing problems in the future that may impact on your ability to work.

Based on the OP's version of the accident, that could have potentially been a fatality if the item fell on his head. OP - I hate the litigious culture we have now, but from your account of the incident, you should certainly not feel guilty in claiming.

Yorkie1

I'd consider claiming as the accident has caused serious injury with long-term, possibly permanent, damage.

MissSarah1972

malcindebt wrote: »

Actually I was on Full pay. We get it for 3 months.

The injury is to my right arm. I was walking through the high bay storage and a large box has fallen from one of the upper shelves (approx 16ft high) and caught me on the shoulder. It dislocated my shoulder and broke my collar bone. I also have some tendon damage and damage to the cartlidge and the shoulder socket.
I have returned to work on light duties after 7 weeks off.
The specialist I saw at the hospital has said it's unlikely I'll get full movement back in my shoulder due to the damage.

If you had 7 weeks off and got paid full for 3 then you were on SSP for the other 4? If the accident wasn't your fault then I probably would if they wouldnt pay me for the full term of my sickenss and if there is permenant damage etc

r710

We've just been considering the same issue following an accident my husband had at work.

He's sat in a meeting with the Union rep and HR (of large company), who have explicitly said any claim will not affect any decision on his career with them. He only had the accident a month ago, and has been off since then, but HR were surprised they hadn't received a claim by now. They have insurance for accidents so were totally unconcerned. For us, we just need to recoup what's been lost in wages etc. Had the company paid him while he was off, I'm not sure we'd pursue it but we've yet to discover how it may affect his working life in future, if indeed, he'll ever be able to go back to what he was doing before.

Takeaway_Addict

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

If you had 7 weeks off and got paid full for 3 then you were on SSP for the other 4? If the accident wasn't your fault then I probably would if they wouldnt pay me for the full term of my sickenss and if there is permenant damage etc

Months not weeks....

Takeaway_Addict

r710 wrote: »

We've just been considering the same issue following an accident my husband had at work.

He's sat in a meeting with the Union rep and HR (of large company), who have explicitly said any claim will not affect any decision on his career with them. He only had the accident a month ago, and has been off since then, but HR were surprised they hadn't received a claim by now. They have insurance for accidents so were totally unconcerned. For us, we just need to recoup what's been lost in wages etc. Had the company paid him while he was off, I'm not sure we'd pursue it but we've yet to discover how it may affect his working life in future, if indeed, he'll ever be able to go back to what he was doing before.

Be real, it is suicidal for a company for an HR rep to say...'yeah you sue us its the end of your career here' in front of a union rep!!!

But as said before the fact they don't pay full sick pay then I would probably claim.

MissSarah1972

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Months not weeks....

ops sorry months

well wow you have 3 months full pay?

the injury was that bad you had 7 months off? I'd sue them then.

Lucky you got 3 months though - where I worked staff injured got only SSP hence them all claiming.

Takeaway_Addict

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

ops sorry months

well wow you have 3 months full pay?

the injury was that bad you had 7 months off? I'd sue them then.

Lucky you got 3 months though - where I worked staff injured got only SSP hence them all claiming.

LOL, I;ve done it myself so can't moan at you but

The op gets 3 months full sick pay, he has only been off 7 weeks......

MissSarah1972

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

LOL, I;ve done it myself so can't moan at you but

The op gets 3 months full sick pay, he has only been off 7 weeks......

OMG, sorry was up at 6 and now losing my mind

ok the OP has been paid in full for the 7 weeks off