subject: Accident At Work - Has It Been Reported To HSE (Health & Safety Executive)? [print this page] Accident At Work - Has It Been Reported To HSE (Health & Safety Executive)?
Copyright (c) 2011 Nicholas JervisIf you have been involved in an accident at work, has the accident been reported to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE)? Should it be reported to them and does it have to be reported to them? The purpose of this article is to explore the types of accidents which must be reported and what action must be taken in respect of those accidents. Not all accidents have to be reported to HSE.There are specific lists of accidents which must be reported. These include the following : * Death;* Major injuries such as broken legs or arms;* Any injury that stops an employee from doing their normal job for more than three days;* Disease;* Dangerous incidents such as the collapse of scaffolding in the workplace or the collapse of shelving/machinery. Who must report the accident to HSE? The accident must be reported by your employer. However, if that has not happened you can report the accident on behalf of your employer. The reasons your employer might not want to report the accident may be legitimate, such as being away from the workplace or it may be that he does not want the accident showing on his records for fear of investigation (e.g. if he has not maintained equipment correctly). Accident at work book or report to HSE or both? Minor injuries which are not covered on the list of serious injuries above such as disease or fractured leg/arms etc must still be recorded in your accident at work book. All employers must keep an accident at work book which provides two purposes:- 1) to record the details of an accident, to explain your time off work and to support your claim for compensation; 2) records a list of accident types so that your employer can make changes to systems or processes to reduce these types of accidents. If your injury falls within the serious category detailed above then the accident should be recorded in the accident at work book and also must be reported to the HSE. Next steps.If you have been injured in an accident at work and have either recorded it in the accident at work book or recorded and reported it to the HSE you may be entitled to claim compensation. You should contact a specialist work accident solicitor as soon as possible. Whilst the time limit for making a work accident claim is three years the sooner you make an accident claim after the accident the better it is in terms of proving your accident was somebody else's fault. You should keep all receipts of expenses incurred as a result of the accident and take these to the specialist solicitor with you on your first meeting. Summary.If you suffer a serious injury as a result of an accident at work such as a broken arm, or experience a serious accident in the workplace you should report this to the Health & Safety Executive. If your injury is serious you should seek to claim compensation through a specialist work accident solicitor.
