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Health and Safety Laws Re Accident Book
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natalieho
Forumite 507 posts
Could someone help me with this, my daughter had an accident in a major department store. Staff where told, and acknowledged by the physical evdience of that happened.
I was in shock and had a very very upset child, when i have spoke with various people re the accident i was told due to Health and Safety law this should have been recorded.
I contacted the said store, and got a responce that i refused medical care thus this means it would not go in the book.
A- I never refused medical care B- I have been told even though we never had medical care their that its their responsibility and they had to record the accident for their own legalalities to cover themselves from being sued.
Can someone please confirm what ACT it is in law that they have to follow on recording this.
I was in shock and had a very very upset child, when i have spoke with various people re the accident i was told due to Health and Safety law this should have been recorded.
I contacted the said store, and got a responce that i refused medical care thus this means it would not go in the book.
A- I never refused medical care B- I have been told even though we never had medical care their that its their responsibility and they had to record the accident for their own legalalities to cover themselves from being sued.
Can someone please confirm what ACT it is in law that they have to follow on recording this.
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Replies
4 General duties of persons concerned with premises to persons other than their employees.E+W+S+N.I.
(1)This section has effect for imposing on persons duties in relation to those who—
(a)are not their employees; but
(b)use non-domestic premises made available to them as a place of work or as a place where they may use plant or substances provided for their use there,
and applies to premises so made available and other non-domestic premises used in connection with them.
(2)It shall be the duty of each person who has, to any extent, control of premises to which this section applies or of the means of access thereto or egress therefrom or of any plant or substance in such premises to take such measures as it is reasonable for a person in his position to take to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the premises, all means of access thereto or egress therefrom available for use by persons using the premises, and any plant or substance in the premises or, as the case may be, provided for use there, is or are safe and without risks to health.
However - The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 goes on to say :
they are injured following an accident that arises out of, or in connection with, work
Recording and reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
RIDDOR places a legal duty on:
- employers
- self-employed people
- people in control of premises.
These 'responsible persons' must record and report certain incidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences involving employees, self-employed workers and members of the public.What do responsible persons have to do?
Details of all reportable incidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences must be recorded, including:
- the date when the report is made
- the method of reporting
- the date, time and place of the event
- personal details of those involved
- a brief description of the nature of the event or disease.
Records can be kept in any form but must conform to data protection requirements.So because your daughter didnt need medical assistance they are not legally bound to report it under RIDDOR, however it does require them to record the incident in their accident book by LAW.
I just wanted to make sure it was recorded but got such a snotty letter back, when what happened to my daughter was pretty horrific which took 30 minutes in store (with staff) to stop her crying
copy and paste :
Recording and reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
RIDDOR places a legal duty on:
- employers
- self-employed people
- people in control of premises.
These 'responsible persons' must record and report certain incidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences involving employees, self-employed workers and members of the public.What do responsible persons have to do?
Details of all reportable incidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences must be recorded, including:
- the date when the report is made
- the method of reporting
- the date, time and place of the event
- personal details of those involved
- a brief description of the nature of the event or disease.
Records can be kept in any form but must conform to data protection requirements.Should they not do that then contact the Health and Safety Executive.
You are using neither plant nor substances provided for their use.
There is a general duty of care by the premises owner and their employees for all visitors
There is no mandatory requirement to complete an accident book entry in this situation, however, in our highly litigious society it would make sense to have a record.
and we will never, ever return.
Hi Natalie - we'd recommend that you contact your local bureau and maybe also try our Consumer Helpline (08454 04 05 06, 9am to 5pm, Mondays to Fridays), to get further advice on this. The owners of stores and supermarkets do have legal responsibilities to ensure people's well-being whilst they're on the premises.
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I was using that as a highlight to say they have a duty of care to non employees, agree though could have just referred to RIDDOR.
The link you have done above is for REPORTABLE injuries which in this case they would not be.
"These 'responsible persons' must record and report certain incidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences involving employees, self-employed workers and members of the public."
The injury sustained must be recorded, and only certain injuries etc are reportable - its there in black and white.
HSE Guidance which seems to confirm that 'record and report' are a combined process
Recording is an ancillary function of RIDDOR whose primary purpose is to lay down the requirements for REPORTING injuries, disease etc
This goes back to the duty of care element of H&SW and the common sense approach to put it in the accident book in case of litigation.