What is an accident at work?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)defines a workplace accident or workplace injury as ‘an event that results in injury or ill health’. This covers a broad range of circumstances that can result in an injury or illness in the workplace.

Everything from a trip on loose cables, to contracting an industrial disease through exposure to hazardous chemicals at work can be classed as an accident at work.

Employers legally have a duty of care to protect their employees in the workplace.

Employers obligations to avoid accidents at work

This can be through a variety of different ways including:

• Providing appropriate health and safety training.
• Providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – such as hard hats, gloves, safety glasses, high-vis clothing, and shoe covers, etc.
• Training staff on how to use machinery and carry out work practices safely.
• Carrying out regular maintenance of machinery and equipment.
• Conducting regular risk assessments.
• Displaying appropriate hazard warning signs such as ‘wet floor’ signage and cleaning up spillages.

Common causes of workplace accidents

Common causes leading to a personal injury at work and workplace accident claim include:

Falls from height

Professions such as window cleaners, scaffolders, roofers and construction workers can be at risk of falling from height at work if they are not provided with proper health and safety equipment, such as harnesses and safety railings.

Employers must adhere to the Work at Height Regulations 2005 to ensure that their employees are safe whilst working at height, including:

• Ensuring that all surfaces are dry, sturdy and free from obstacles.
• Ensuring that all equipment is in good working order.
• Providing employees with the right PPE.

Slips, trips and falls

Slips, trips and falls can occur in all workplace environments, from offices to construction sites and everything in between. They are commonly caused due to:

• Poor lighting
• Loose cables.
• Spillages.

Uneven surfaces

Employers are obliged to mitigate the risk of slips, trips and falls in the workplace by:

• Cleaning up spillages and clearly displaying hazard warning signs.
• Maintaining a tidy workplace free from unexpected obstacles.
• Ensuring that workspaces are well-lit and that flooring is even.

Manual handling injuries 

Manual handling injuries are one of the most common types of workplace accidents affecting employees, with the HSE estimating that over a third of workplace injuries occur as a result of manual handling.

Muscoskeletal disorders (MSDs) include injury or damage to the joints or soft tissue in the limbs and back. They can happen as a result of:

• Adapting awkward postures to lift, carry or drag heavy or awkward-shaped objects.
• Repetitive movement of arms, legs and back, leading to an injury or exacerbating an existing injury.

Your employer should do the following before allowing you to carry out any manual handling:

• Carry out a risk assessment.
• Implement any measures that can aid in the heavy lifting such as pallet trucks, hoists or conveyors.
• Conduct health and safety training to show employees the safe way to conduct the task.

Stress-related illness

Work-related stress is extremely common, with anxiety and depression leading to over 11 million working days lost each year. It can be caused by many different factors including:

• Excessive workload
• Unrealistic deadlines.
• Pressure to meet targets from upper management.
• Workplace bullying.

Employers should have policies in place to help reduce workplace stress among their employees.

Road traffic accidents 

For employees with a job that involves a lot of time being on the road including delivery/HGV drivers, travelling sales reps etc, company car accidents can always be a possibility. Employers can help to reduce the rate of work-related road traffic accidents by managing drivers, vehicles and journeys.

Managing drivers: drivers can be managed through training on speed awareness, safely manoeuvring vehicles and recognising signs of fatigue and distraction.

Managing vehicles: ensure that vehicles go through regular maintenance checks to make sure that they are safe and roadworthy. Reversing cameras and rear sensors can be installed in vehicles to reduce the incident rate of blind spot accidents.

Managing journeys: journeys can be managed by aiming to limit inner-city driving as much as possible, as incidents are more likely to happen in built-up congested areas. it’s also important to implement a policy of regular breaks to mitigate the chance of collisions caused by fatigue.

Types of accidents in the workplace claims

It doesn’t matter which type of employment contract you are on, you can make an accident at work claim whether you are full-time, part-time, temporary, fixed term, agency worker, contractor or sub-contractor. If an employer’s negligent actions caused you to be injured, it could be possible for you to make an accident at work claim.