Employer or employee: Who is responsible for an accident at work?

What responsibilities do employers have for their employees?

When an employee is at work, their employer is responsible for their safety. They have a legal duty of care, which is detailed in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It doesn't matter if their employees are not in their normal place of work as long as they are carrying out work duties. An employer must put safeguards in place at work to reduce the likelihood that an accident or illness occurs.

An employer's legal duty towards their employees also extends to anyone else under their control. This includes, for example:

• agency workers
• temporary staff
• contractors

What are an employee's responsibilities in the workplace?

As an employee, you are required to follow your workplace's rules and to carry out your job. However, you are responsible for looking after your health and safety as best that you can. 

For example, you must pay attention to instructions and warnings such as a sign warning that water has split on the floor and the area may be slippery.

How can employers help to ensure the safety of their employees?

An employer must ensure the duty of their employees as far as is reasonably practicable for them to do so. Therefore, they must take reasonable steps to ensure their employee's safety, rather than guarantee they will stay safe. Examples of how an employer can do this is by:

• giving employees the right training
• ensuring employees have necessary safety equipment 
• making sure that machines are safe
• carrying out regular risk assessment
• pointing out potential hazards
• ensuring you do not work too many hours and have a rest break 

How can employees help to keep themselves, and others, safe at work? 

As an employee, you can help to keep yourself safe at work too. Simply follow the rules in the workplace and act sensibly at all times. Listen to the advice of your employer and do as they say, and ensure others do too.

If an accident occurs in the workplace, who is at fault?

When an accident occurs in the workplace, your employer is likely to be at fault. It is rarely an employee's fault when a workplace accident happens unless they have not followed safety rules. Even if your coworker is at fault, the fault ultimately lies with your employer.

An employer is at fault for an accident to an employee in the workplace where:

• they owe you a duty of care
• they have breached the duty of care
• his has caused you to suffer an injury 

To establish fault in a workplace accident you must speak to a personal injury lawyer as they will be able to advise you of the potential to make an accident at work claim or not. 

What should I do if my employer is at fault for my accident at work? 

If you think your employer is at fault for your accident at work, it is important to gather as much evidence to prove this. Consider if you have or can get hold of the following:

• photos and video evidence of your injury and the accident scene
• a copy of the entry in the accident record book
• your own note of the incident

Where your employer is at fault you have a time limit to make a compensation claim,  so you need to act fast. The time limit is usually three years from the date of the accident. 

Could I make an accident at work claim? 

If you have been unfortunate enough to suffer an accident while at work, you could be owed compensation. All you need to do is claim for your workplace injury. You go to work to do your job, not to suffer an accident or injury.

However, accidents do happen in the workplace. For example, office accidents and accidents involving manual labour jobs. At National Accident Helpline, we fully appreciate that when you suffer an accident at work,  it often has a massive impact on your life.  So it is only fair that you receive the compensation you are due.

Let us at National Accident Helpline help you make an accident at work claim today - Call or, request a call back here. You can even start your claim online. 

What if my accident at work was my fault?

If your accident in the workplace is your fault, you are unlikely to be able to make a compensation claim. For example, if you claimed your employer did not give you the right safety wear (PPE) when in fact they can prove that they did. However, if you are partly at fault, you are still likely to be able to make a workplace compensation claim; it will just result in slightly less compensation as you take some blame, which is called contributory negligence.

How do I make an accident at work claim?

It's easy to make a workplace accident claim with us at National Accident Helpline. If you suffer an accident at work it can affect your daily life, including stopping you from working, meaning a loss of earnings. So you must make a claim.

At National Accident Helpline, your claim process is made as simple as possible. You can even calculate your potential compensation online by using our compensation calculator. Our advisors calmly and carefully listen to your situation so they can help you with the compensation you may be able to claim. Then they pass you to one of our expert solicitors who will complete your claim.

If you have suffered an injury in the workplace you can even make your compensation claim, with us on a no-win no fee basis. This means that when you make a personal injury claim for an injury in the workplace, you take absolutely no risk in case the workplace accident is primarily your fault, not your employer's. 

If you have had an accident in the workplace and want to claim your personal injury compensation,  call us now on . If the workplace injury is not your fault, we help you in making a compensation claim. You can, if you prefer,  request a call back here or even begin your claim online.