Injured at work

NMP_2

Hi,
I dont usually use forums, so Im not sure this is the right place to post this BUT .......
I was injured at work (nursing) and would like to know if anyone has any good/bad experiences with compensation companies, who to avoid, who to use, who takes all your compensation in fees etc etc
Any advice would be useful as I dont know where to start...

BitterAndTwisted

If you're in nursing the first place to start would not be compensation ambulance-chasers!

There are formal procedures so your work-place should have a formal reporting-structure. Use it.

NMP_2

Unfortunetely they dont have any procedures (I dont work within the NHS which does have these procedures)

NMP_2

No Unfortunetely not

wiogs

NMP wrote: »

Unfortunetely they dont have any procedures (I dont work within the NHS which does have these procedures)

Do they have accident reporting procedures?

If so make sure these are followed. A paper trail always helps.

bubblegumcola

I would have thought you should have filled out an IRIS form at your place of work. Usually the hr dept or occupational health dept keeps a check on incidents, they need to see what happened, who was at fault, etc. I filled out one at work recently, they should be readily available and easy to find. Maybe the Health and safety executive website might be a place to look at? Why do you feel the need to go down the compensation route if you don't mind me asking?

swingaloo

Unless you follow the correct procedures for reporting the accident and having it logged correctly you would not be able to make a successful claim.

dacouch

swingaloo wrote: »

Unless you follow the correct procedures for reporting the accident and having it logged correctly you would not be able to make a successful claim.

That's not true

dickydonkin

swingaloo wrote: »

Unless you follow the correct procedures for reporting the accident and having it logged correctly you would not be able to make a successful claim.

Incorrect.

Using that logic - what would an injured person do if the employer has no incident/accident reporting procedures in place.......of which there are quite a few.

bubblegumcola wrote: »

Why do you feel the need to go down the compensation route if you don't mind me asking?

To compensate for loss of earnings and suffering perhaps?

bubblegumcola

There are surely some sort of accident reporting procedures in place if you are employed in nursing, NHS or not. How do you claim your compensation without written and witnessed proof of the accident, the injury, where and when it took place and how it happened, etc. Usually the form is given to hr or occupational health and if necessary a risk assessment done to see how/why it occurred and whose fault it was, also if further training is required by the employer to the employee or other special measures are required to be put in place by the employer.

If you are at all concerned about the way things are done where you work due to an accident that happened to you I would contact either your local council or the health and safety executive and raise your concerns so other employees don't have the same thing happen to them. I don't know what your injury is or how long you have been off work for, but for me that would be my priority. Making sure the same thing doesn't happen to my fellow workers and that lessons are learned by the employer if it does turn out to be their fault.

dickydonkin

bubblegumcola wrote: »

There are surely some sort of accident reporting procedures in place if you are employed in nursing, NHS or not. How do you claim your compensation without written and witnessed proof of the accident, the injury, where and when it took place and how it happened, etc.

Documented evidence to claim compensation does not neccesarily have to be provided by the employer. If no reporting procedures for accidents/injuries and near misses are in place at a place of work, you would then need to act as though you suffered a personal injury outside of work - for example falling and injuring yourself on a defective footpath.

Using that scenario, you would take photos of the defect or process that caused the accident, ask witnesses to support your claim and submit your version of accounts to the legal team working on your behalf.

That in turn should instigate a response from the employer and if no accident reporting procedures are in place, that in itself may indicate a poor safety culture within the organisation.

Usually the form is given to hr or occupational health and if necessary a risk assessment done to see how/why it occurred and whose fault it was, also if further training is required by the employer to the employee or other special measures are required to be put in place by the employer.

Many SME's do not have a HR department - let alone an occupational health facility!

Risk assessments are an element of pro-active monitoring. A risk assesment is just as the name implies - it does not determine how an accident occurred, but attempts to foresee what actually could cause harm.

It is an accident investigation that should determine the cause(s) of an accident (immediate and underlying) and provide remedial actions. An accident investigation is reactive monitoring - not what you want, but lessons can be learnt.

Following an accident/incident a risk assessment would need to be reviewed and amended if necessary.

If you are at all concerned about the way things are done where you work due to an accident that happened to you I would contact either your local council or the health and safety executive and raise your concerns so other employees don't have the same thing happen to them. I don't know what your injury is or how long you have been off work for, but for me that would be my priority. Making sure the same thing doesn't happen to my fellow workers and that lessons are learned by the employer if it does turn out to be their fault.

Just to add, before contacting the relevant enforcing body, whether it is the HSE or the local EHO, always try to resolve the problem with management.

With the recently introduced fee for intervention scheme (FFI), the HSE can charge an employer for advice and other investigations - currently something like £124.00 per hour - something that may 'encourage' an employer to put things right without intervention from the HSE.