About Workplace Accident Claims

The accident claims industry in the UK is worth an estimated 6 billion pounds annually and a reasonable proportion of this is made up of workplace accident claims. But why do people make compensation claims for accidents at work and is an employer really responsible?

Well, it always depends on the accident. The Health and Safety Executive, or HSE, in the UK was put in place to protect employees by setting regulations for the workplace. Such regulations include the fact that an employer must provide, free of charge, the training required for you to do your job as safely as possible. They must also provide on site First Aid, any equipment and protective clothing required and a full document detailing Health and Safety procedures.

These are just the very basic regulations. Any employer failing to meet the required standards of health and safety in the workplace faces prosecution. In the events that an employee has an accident in the workplace and it is found that the employer was failing to meet HSE requirements in any way, then the employer is liable for that accident. It is this that is the main reason for workplace accident claims in the UK.

Unfortunately, accidents in the workplace are more common than anyone would like them to be. The HSE statistics for 2008/09 show that 180 people in the UK were killed at work. A further 246000 non-fatal accidents occurred at work in addition to that. No official figures exist for typical compensation sums for workplace accidents, largely because out of court settlements are common and often remain private. And of course, not all accidents at work are the responsibility of the employer.