Accident at work

MrRich303

A couple of weeks ago I was employed to help pack up a work site.  It was all last minute and I was working in a self employed capacity.

Whilst there I fell out of a van i was loading and have fractured a bone in my wrist.

Due to this I am now unable to do my normal job which will start soon as restrictions ease.

On-site we received no training on how to load the vans.  My hours sheet/contract contains H + S info which includes van loading, although I received this the day after the accident.  If we had followed the H + S procedure as specified it's much less likely the accident would have happened.

I'm hoping I have a case for compensation but have no experience of where to go from here.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Undervalued

MrRich303 said:

A couple of weeks ago I was employed to help pack up a work site.  It was all last minute and I was working in a self employed capacity.

Whilst there I fell out of a van i was loading and have fractured a bone in my wrist.

Due to this I am now unable to do my normal job which will start soon as restrictions ease.

On-site we received no training on how to load the vans.  My hours sheet/contract contains H + S info which includes van loading, although I received this the day after the accident.  If we had followed the H + S procedure as specified it's much less likely the accident would have happened.

I'm hoping I have a case for compensation but have no experience of where to go from here.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

If this was a genuine self employed situation then you don't have an "employer" as such but a client. A client wouldn't normally be responsible for providing training. When did you last provide training for a plumber or other tradesman you hired to work on your house?

If you can argue that you were actually an employee then there might be a case that training should have been provided.

If the van was faulty / dangerous in some way then the owner might have some liability if it contributed to somebody's injury regardless of their employment status.

But, to be blunt, if you accept cash in hand "jobs" then you are not going to be as well protected as you would be if it was all by the book!

MrRich303

Thanks for that.  Annoyingly that distinction does make sense.  I need to look into exactly what my status was but on reading your post it doesn't look good for me.

lincroft1710

I realise you may not have wanted to go into all the ins and outs but the expression "I fell out of a van I was loading" implies a degree of carelessness rather than lack of training.

74jax

If you are self employed, does your insurance cover such accidents?  Maybe personal liability that might cover some months out of work?  

TELLIT01

Undervalued said:

MrRich303 said:

A couple of weeks ago I was employed to help pack up a work site.  It was all last minute and I was working in a self employed capacity.

Whilst there I fell out of a van i was loading and have fractured a bone in my wrist.

Due to this I am now unable to do my normal job which will start soon as restrictions ease.

On-site we received no training on how to load the vans.  My hours sheet/contract contains H + S info which includes van loading, although I received this the day after the accident.  If we had followed the H + S procedure as specified it's much less likely the accident would have happened.

I'm hoping I have a case for compensation but have no experience of where to go from here.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

If this was a genuine self employed situation then you don't have an "employer" as such but a client. A client wouldn't normally be responsible for providing training. When did you last provide training for a plumber or other tradesman you hired to work on your house?

If you can argue that you were actually an employee then there might be a case that training should have been provided.

If the van was faulty / dangerous in some way then the owner might have some liability if it contributed to somebody's injury regardless of their employment status.

But, to be blunt, if you accept cash in hand "jobs" then you are not going to be as well protected as you would be if it was all by the book!

Where does the OP say this was a 'cash-in-hand' job? 

MrRich303

lincroft1710 said:

I realise you may not have wanted to go into all the ins and outs but the expression "I fell out of a van I was loading" implies a degree of carelessness rather than lack of training.

The tail lift was in the "down" position as opposed to the "up" position, which is what is specified in the H + S section of the contract.  I slipped on the metal bar that ran across the entrance to the van on the floor, whilst loading items.

lincroft1710

MrRich303 said:

lincroft1710 said:

I realise you may not have wanted to go into all the ins and outs but the expression "I fell out of a van I was loading" implies a degree of carelessness rather than lack of training.

The tail lift was in the "down" position as opposed to the "up" position, which is what is specified in the H + S section of the contract.  I slipped on the metal bar that ran across the entrance to the van on the floor, whilst loading items.

Whose fault was it the tail lift was not in the correct position? Did it cause you to slip, or did you slip and had the tail lift been in the correct position, your fall would not have been so severe? Was there a RIDDOR report? 

MrRich303

lincroft1710 said:

MrRich303 said:

lincroft1710 said:

I realise you may not have wanted to go into all the ins and outs but the expression "I fell out of a van I was loading" implies a degree of carelessness rather than lack of training.

The tail lift was in the "down" position as opposed to the "up" position, which is what is specified in the H + S section of the contract.  I slipped on the metal bar that ran across the entrance to the van on the floor, whilst loading items.

Whose fault was it the tail lift was not in the correct position? Did it cause you to slip, or did you slip and had the tail lift been in the correct position, your fall would not have been so severe? Was there a RIDDOR report? 

I was working in a team of three.  It was no-one's fault as such as we weren't aware of the "correct" position.  Had the tail lift been in the correct position I don't believe I would have fallen as the tail lift had an anti-slip floor.  No RIDDOR report as yet, although I've just looked it up so will be ensuring one is completed as I'll be unable to work for more than 7 consecutive days.

lincroft1710

So I assume none of the 3 people in the team had been given instructions on how to use the tail lift and further the vehicle in question belonged to or was hired/leased by the person/organisation for whom you were working.


In Ireland, they seem pretty clued up on using tail lifts properly

https://www.hsa.ie/eng/publications_and_forms/publications/information_sheets/safe_vehicle_tailboard_goods_lift_operations.pdf

MrRich303

lincroft1710 said:

So I assume none of the 3 people in the team had been given instructions on how to use the tail lift and further the vehicle in question belonged to or was hired/leased by the person/organisation for whom you were working.

Exactly.