Accident at Work Caused by Defective Equipment

If I want to claim compensation for an accident at work caused by defective equipment do I have to make it against my boss? It was another employee who broke the electronic drill which caused my hand injury.

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

Because your employer has a legal duty of care to provide his or her employees with a safe working environment, most compensation claims for accident at work caused by defective equipment are made against the employer, even if they were not directly responsible for the accident. If you want to pursue your claim for compensation, it must be established that the injury you sustained was due to the negligence of another party.

In workplace compensation claims, a common difficulty that arises is that the employee is reluctant to initiate action against their employer for fear that their working relationship will be damaged. The best way to combat this issue would be to engage in the services of an experienced solicitor who will be able to deal with the claim in a way that reduces the risk of conflict.

There are some procedures that you should have carried out directly after the accident at work caused by defective equipment that could hasten the pace of your claim, such as seeking immediate medical attention and having your injury recorded in the business’s “Accident Report Book”. It would also have been useful if you collected the details of any witnesses and if you could have accessed CCTV images to determine the exact circumstances of the accident. The completion of these procedures would be extremely beneficial to your case, but if you have not carried them all out already, a solicitor would be able to assist you in the collection of any relevant documents.

It is understandable why you would not like to make a compensation claim for your accident at work caused by defective equipment when you know a co-worker to have been the person at fault. However, it must be said that the compensation award you receive will come from your employer’s insurance company, as they will be covered for work place accidents, and not from your employer’s own pocket. A solicitor will ensure that your compensation claim is handled as delicately as possible, with minimum risk of conflict and in the fastest possible time.