Compensation for Tripping and Falling Over an Electrical Extension Cord in a Factory

Is it possible to claim compensation for tripping and falling over an electrical extension cord in a factory? My employer said I cannot claim for this type of accident. Is that true?

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

It is possible to claim compensation for tripping and falling over electrical extension cord in a factory; however whether you are entitled to do so will depend on the circumstances of the accident, the nature of the injuries you sustained and the action you took after the accident.

Compensation for tripping and falling over electrical extension cord in a factory can be claimed for a personal injury which has been sustained in a tripping accident in a factory which was caused by the negligence of a third party – and only if the third party responsible for the accident owed you a duty of care. Your employer certainly owes you a duty of care to make sure the workplace is safe and free from hazards. An employer has a legal responsibility to make sure that the workplace is regularly monitored, and that the risks of a trip and fall injury are kept to the minimum possible level.

If an electrical extension cord was left in a place where it could cause an accident, this could be classed as a failure in a duty of care and negligence on the part of your employer. If there was negligence and a failure in a duty of care, you will be entitled to claim compensation for tripping and falling over electrical extension cord in a factory for your injuries.

You can claim compensation for tripping and falling over electrical extension cord in a factory for any injury you have sustained, be it a deep cut, a broken bone or a more serious injury. It is not the injury itself which will dictate whether a claim for compensation for a trip and fall in a factory can be made, but the action you took after you were injured.

You will only be able to claim for an injury sustained in a trip on an extension cord in a factory if you considered the injury sufficiently severe to have it treated by a doctor or in hospital. You should also seek legal advice from a personal injury solicitor, as while it may be possible to make a claim for tripping and falling over electrical extension cord in a factory, it may not actually be worth your while to do so for very minor injuries.

It is your responsibility to prove that your employer has been negligent, such as allowing a hazard to be created or ignored in the workplace. Since it is unlikely that you would have been able to take a photograph of the hazard which caused the trip and fall in a factory, other evidence of negligence will be required.

Factory accidents such as trips and falls usually have witnesses, so it will help to support your factory trip accident claim if you can record the contact details of anyone who witnessed the accident or who saw the hazard. You should also make a record of the accident in your employer’s accident book. The accident book report can also be used when claiming compensation for tripping and falling over electrical extension cord in a factory as proof that the accident occurred at work.

Since proving negligence can be complicated and employers can be obstructive, it is a good idea to consult a personal injury solicitor about making a factory trip claim for tripping and falling over electrical extension cord in a factory, especially since your employer has already indicated that he or she will contest any claim for compensation for your injuries.