Can I claim compensation for being injured by a collapsed chair in an office? My manager bought cheap chairs and mine collapsed causing me to injure my back.
Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor
Editor in Chief
It should be possible to claim compensation for being injured by a collapsed chair in an office if your employer chose to cut corners and issue office equipment which was of a poor quality and fell below acceptable standards. There are many ways which employers can legitimately cut costs; however none of these measures can place the health and safety of workers in jeopardy.
In Ireland, office chairs must be supplied which are fully compliant with European safety standards – specifically the standard EN 1335-1, which applies to type A, type B and type C office chairs. If you were supplied with office chairs which did not match this minimum European standard, your employer is likely to have failed in a duty of care to protect you from harm and due to his negligence it should be possible to claim compensation for being injured by a collapsed chair in an office.
Your employer also has a duty of care to you to ensure that the office equipment supplied to you is suitable for own your individual requirements. Most office chairs are designed to be safety used for up to 8 hours a day for persons weighing up to 110kg. If you weigh more than 110kg and were provided with a chair which was not suitable for your own individual requirements, this could also be grounds for claiming compensation for being injured by a collapsed chair in an office.
It is strongly recommended that you speak with a personal injury solicitor about claiming compensation for being injured by a collapsed chair in an office. Back injuries can be difficult to accurately diagnose and their severity needs to be assessed by an expert in the field if you are to ensure that your full entitlement to office chair injury compensation is awarded to you by the Injuries Board.
The Injuries Board uses the book of Quantum as a reference when calculating the amount of compensation for being injured by a collapsed chair in an office which is applicable. The range of compensation for a back injury is considerable, and where your injury falls within this compensation range will be decided to a large extent by the evidence provided by your doctor. Should you decide to use a personal injury solicitor to file and pursue a claim for office chair injury compensation; your solicitor will ensure that your injuries are comprehensively assessed to ensure that your claim for compensation for being injured by a collapsed chair in an office has a good chance of recovering a fair settlement of compensation.