Compensation for Injury by Falling Stock Incorrectly Stacked in a Warehouse

What must I do in order to claim compensation for injury by falling stock incorrectly stacked in warehouse? A pot of paint fell from a high shelf in the warehouse and broke my collarbone. I am now back at work and the paint is still incorrectly stacked.

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

In order to make a claim for compensation for an injury by falling stock incorrectly stacked in a warehouse you must establish and prove that your injury was attributable to the negligence of your employer. Although your employer will probably not have stacked the paint pots personally, it is ultimately your employer’s responsibility to ensure that work is completed correctly and that items are stacked correctly in the warehouse. By failing to ensure that working practices were safe, your employer will be liable for your compensation for an injury caused by falling stock.

It would appear that your employer has been negligent for failing to ensure that stock was correctly stacked, however the fact that little or nothing had been done to correct the hazard after a highly serious accident has occurred all but confirms your employers lack of interest in health and safety at work. The incorrect stacking of items has potential to cause fatal injuries and it is important not only that you recover warehouse injury compensation for your pain suffering and loss, but that your employer is held accountable for serious health and safety failings in the workplace.

The first step which you should take in order to claim compensation for an injury by falling stock at work – if you have not already done so – is to make a report of the accident in your Employer’s Accident Book. The Accident Book report should detail how the accident occurred, the injuries you sustained and details of anyone else involved in the accident. The Accident Book report should also include a record of the date and time of the accident, and the details of any witnesses. You will also need to collect evidence of employer negligence to support your claim for compensation for an injury by falling stock incorrectly stacked in a warehouse.

Ideally you should take photographs of the warehouse shelves where items are incorrectly stacked, especially of the pots of paint which fell and caused your injury. Your photographs need to show how the stock is incorrectly stacked to demonstrate how the accident came to occur. If there are numerous examples of incorrectly stacked items in the warehouse, you should take photographs of other areas of concern. This will help to demonstrate a general lack of attention to the health and safety of workers by your employer, and will help to substantiate your claim for compensation for an injury by falling stock incorrectly stacked in a warehouse.

It is also strongly advisable that you speak with a personal injury solicitor about making a claim for compensation for an injury by falling stock incorrectly stacked in a warehouse. Although in your case it would appear that your employer has clearly been negligent, it can still take a year or more before your claim for an injury by falling stock incorrectly stacked in a warehouse is likely to be resolved. With a personal injury solicitor pursuing your warehouse injury compensation claim it may be possible to speed up the claim process and to negotiate a suitable settlement of warehouse injury compensation with your employer’s insurance company.